


A Good Day

by CrabRabbit



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Child Abuse, Hallucinations, M/M, Mute!John, Nightmares, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Panic Attacks, Violence, alot of violence tbfh, highschool au how original am i right guys, the drug thing is v small
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-06 15:53:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 38,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8759365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrabRabbit/pseuds/CrabRabbit
Summary: Your name is John Egbert and you don't know how much longer you can maintain this facade. Your peers ridicule you, your dad hates you and you can barley hold onto the small thread of sanity you have left. What will happen when a mysterious new student named Dave forces his way into John's life?





	1. Chapter 1

John woke up with a start, dreams of a checkered battlefield with bloodied black and white creatures still fresh in his mind. He had suffered from nightmares for as long as he can remember and he's thankful they weren't as bad tonight. He didn't want to deal with the aftermath of a real nightmare. Looking at the clock the bright green letters flashed 4:13 AM.

There was still a good amount of time before school but there was no way he would be able to fall asleep in his current state. His mind was still racing and he wasn't breathing right. He got up to get a glass of water, thinking that would help clear his mind. Looking out the window he saw his dad's car parked in the driveway, he never saw his dad during the day and when he came home he usually shut himself in his room. It wasn't until recently that he discovered his dad had developed a pretty serious drinking problem.

The real trouble started one night after a particularly bad nightmare, he had gone downstairs in hope that he could watch a movie to help distract himself from the hallucinations that sometimes followed him from his dreams. But, to his surprise he found his dad at the kitchen table with a nearly empty bottle of whisky. He was confused at first, honestly thinking he was seeing things.

He knew it was real when the bottle was thrown across the room, just barley missing his head. He stopped in his tracks and felt his blood go cold when his dad looked at him with the most hateful expression he'd ever seen. His eyes were laced with venom and spite and John couldn't figure out what he had done wrong. Once his dad started yelling insults and profanity at him he retreated back into his room and collapsed against the door, sobbing silently. That was the first time they talked in weeks.

As time went on his dad got more and more violent, the yelling increased to hitting. Hitting increased to kicking and punching until he was bloody and passed out. Now his days were spent running from harassers at school, and his nights spent locked in his room in an attempt to hide from his dad. But still, his throat was dry and he needed water. There was no going around it, he had to go downstairs. Opening the door as quietly as he could and looked down the hallway, finding the light under his dad's door on. He was in luck, if he was quiet enough he might make it to the kitchen and back to his room without alerting the older Egbert.

Leaving the door ajar he quickly made his way down the stairs, avoiding the steps he knew squeaked with weight, and crept to the next room. In the kitchen he got a cup out of the cupboard before moving to the sink and turning it on. He tried to collect his thoughts and faintly noticed his hands trembling as he filled the clear glass. As soon as it was full he absconded right on out of there, almost falling up the stairs. Back in his room he let out a shaky breath he didn't know he was holding and locked the door. He was safe.

Sitting on the bed he looked at his computer, maybe he could pass the time playing some sort of video game. He never made any friends at school or online so talking to someone was out of the question. After awhile he decided getting up would involve too much effort so he just continued to sit on his bed sipping the cold water. The wall across from him wasn't very entertaining but he found himself just staring at it, not doing anything else. Eventually his mind began to fade and he fell asleep against his will.

The loud buzzing of his alarm forced him out of his short nap. Falling asleep after a nightmare always made him extremely disoriented and fatigued when he woke up. As he became more aware of his surroundings he turned the alarm off and found his glasses pressed into his face. Apparently he fell asleep with them on. Getting up he makes his way to the bathroom to get ready for the day ahead.

After a relatively lengthy shower he went to the mirror to brush his hair and teeth. There were bruises of every shade littering just about all of his body, it wasn't a pretty sight. At least his dad had the decency to avoid his face and hands, but that was to keep people from asking questions. He put on a white long sleeved shirt under a light blue sweatshirt and khaki pants. Despite everything his dad still provided him a good wardrobe but this too was probably just to keep people from noticing how obviously undernourished John really was. Not that they did, nobody looked close enough to tell.

His dad had always been somewhat neglectful, leaving only cake in the kitchen for him to eat and forgetting to buy groceries for weeks when he was young. It hadn't improved as he got older, it only got worse. But John could deal with that, he got lunch at school and that was enough. However, it was getting hard to deal with the bruises and cuts that covered his body. They hurt almost all the time, and if they started healing there was always someone at school who would use him as their own personal punching bag.

He made his way to the kitchen, being significantly less quiet than earlier. His dad was at work so he didn't need to be careful. When he entered he saw a note next to the toaster and a loaf of bread that wasn't there last night. John couldn't help but smile, he knew his dad cared, somewhere deep down in there he still cared. He swallowed down his feelings and stuck a slice of bread in the toaster. After adding butter to the bread he set out to walk to school. He lived somewhat close to campus so he decided to walk and try to avoid some of his daily tormentors that rode the bus.

The bread in his hands was quickly eaten and now replaced with his iPod. It was easier to ignore harsh words when you could only hear half of what was said. As he neared the school he saw boy with bright platinum blonde hair and shades smoking a cigarette. It was overcast so he had no idea why he was wearing sunglasses, but to each their own. He noticed they were walking in the same direction, but he had never seen this kid before. Maybe he was new. John decided he would make an effort to avoid him, there was no need to attract unwanted attention.

The building was warm compared to outside, but it wasn't any more inviting. This school was the worst in the district, it hardly got any funding. The most upkeep it had was an occasional cleaning from the janitors. The teachers hardly cared about their jobs and the students cared even less. This was good for John because people mostly ignored him, he didn't stand out much. He just looked like your average dorky nerd with no friends. But there was a group of people who liked to made his life even more difficult than it already was. They all had very odd names, Vriska, Eridan and Meenah and they enjoyed tormenting John almost every other day.

They had taken a liking to John when they realized they could harass the boy and he wouldn't do anything. He never said anything and it wasn't like he could. He was mute. It had been that way for his whole life, his vocal cords never developed properly in the womb. The most he could manage was a small breathy whimper, but nothing more. He had taken up learning sign language but nobody he knew had ever bothered to learn it, not even his dad when he was still somewhat involved. So he communicated through written note or a notepad app he had downloaded on his phone. Nobody tried to talk to him anyways, so it didn't really matter. He arrived at class and sat down in his stereotypical seat in the back. It was nice not having to worry about people sitting near him. He laid his head down and waited for astronomy to begin.

When the bell rang he found out he had fallen asleep, he should be more careful. It was a miracle that he didn't jump when the bell woke him up. He was still somewhat disoriented when he looked up he saw the usually empty seat to his left occupied by the kid he saw walking earlier. He was still wearing his shades but he was inside, _why?_ The kid didn't even acknowledge that John was there. Class started and the teacher introduced the new student as Dave Strider. He told the class he had just moved here from Texas and said nothing else. By the way everyone was looking at him he could tell they liked him already. The girls looked especially excited to get to know him. They were probably just excited by a cool and mysterious new kid. He looked unphased by his peers fawning over him, John figured he was use to it or just acting like a prick. Maybe both.

Dave, on the other hand, was very curious about the small boy sitting next to him. He had eyes the brightest blue he'd ever seen but they were hidden by the glare on his slightly crooked glasses. While most students were trying to get the attention of the new student it was somewhat obvious the boy in blue was trying to attract as little attention as possible. To be honest it was a nice change, having people trying to get your number and pesterchum handle left and right gets annoying really fast.

"Hey kid, what's your name?" He asked John, looking at him through dark shades. Johns mouth twisted into an uncertain frown and opened the notebook in front of him. At first Dave thought he was being ignored but then the notebook was softly pushed in his direction. On the paper was his name written in dark blue ink. Dave noticed his handwriting was very neat, soft and elegant. _What the hell? You're Dave Strider you don't notice shit like handwriting._ The print read 'John Egbert' and nothing more. As soon as Dave opened his mouth to reply the teacher started talking and John took the notebook back to copy down notes.

Dave looked to the front of the room and started to doze off, not paying the least bit of attention to the instructor. It was his first day, if anyone expected him to do anything worthwhile they were delusional. He would steal occasional glances at John throughout class, not sure why he was so interested in the quiet boy. Why wouldn't he talk to him? What was up with that? Class ended and before Dave could get a word out John was gone. That was the fastest abscond he'd ever seen.

John was concerned. He didn't want this new kid to talk to him, it seemed like it would backfire quickly. He hadn't expected him to talk to him during class, and he kept looking at him. _Why was he looking at him?_ It was scaring him to be honest. He didn't know how the new student felt about him and a grey area was never good. Uncertainty never created a favorable outcome. He would just stick to the plan of ignoring him, that would work. The new kid would hopefully lose interest and find a group of more eligible people to talk to.

His next class is English and he makes his way there before the hallways became crowded. He wasn't good with enclosed, tight spaces. As students filed into class John kept his eyes fixed to the sky outside the window. That was until he felt someone sit next to him, he nervously glanced to the seat and saw it was none other but Dave Strider. _Why was he here? There was a whole room of open seats, why did he pick here?!_ John didn't know what to do so he just turned his attention to the sky once again. This class passed much like the last, Dave introducing himself and everyone staring at him as though he was some sort of rare commodity. About halfway through class when everyone had free time Dave turned to John.

"Hey, John right?" Dave asked in an uninterested voice. John nodded awkwardly and went back to reading the assigned book, hoping to get his point across. Dave kept looking at him like he was expecting something. Eventually he let out an annoyed sigh and started talking to a group of kids who were trying desperately to get his attention. He answered each of their questions in a completely roundabout way leaving the other students confused as to what was just said. From John's perspective it looked like he was just taunting them.

The next class passed with no difficulty and now lunch was being served. John got food from the cafeteria, he wasn't as hungry today because of the toast but he still got as much as he could. One of his rules was to never turn down food, 'you never know the next time you'll get something to eat'. He was soon tucked away in the library, nobody bothered him here, not even the kids who liked to harass him. He sat in a corner and ate, listening to quiet music through his earbuds.

People weren't exactly allowed to eat in the library but the librarians seemed to pity him and allowed it. He was grateful, and he often told them by offering to clean up and put books away but they always smiled and told him not to worry about it. He was in the middle of eating a pretty horrible pizza when he heard someone clear their throat above him. He jumped, dropping the pizza into his lap. Standing in front of him was Dave. He sat down right next to Egbert and looked at him with a less than pleased expression.

"Why won't you talk to me?" He asked, tone slightly hostile. John, wanting to avoid a confrontation pulled out his phone and typed rapidly,  
 _'i can't, i'm mute.'_  
Dave's expression became neutral again once he read the screen.  
"Ah shit, my bad dude."  
John smiled and shook his head. He figured if Dave insisted on talking to him he better be polite and talk back. Maybe he just needed help getting to a class. He took the phone back and started typing again.  
 _'it's fine, there was no way you could have known. can i help you with something?'_ John handed the phone to Dave as he sat in the seat across from him. He was looking for any reaction or emotion, something to clue him in on his intentions. The other just stayed as stoic as ever.  
"No, not really, I just wanted to avoid all the people bugging me so I came here for some quiet. Then I found you." John forced another smile.  
 _'i see. why did you move here?'_  
Dave frowned, these were the same generic questions people had been asking all day. Maybe he could give this kid a straight answer, he hadn't done anything to annoy him yet.  
"My Bro is a DJ and his work made us move here. Shit sucks but it's cool." Dave shrugged, not looking at John anymore, he was focused on the flickering lights on the ceiling. When he looked back at John he was surprised to find a sympathetic expression.  
 _'i'm sorry, did you have to leave your friends?'_  
"Yeah but I can talk to them over pesterchum so it's not really that bad. We didn't hang out much outside of school anyways."

That's when the bell rang. John got up and waved to him shyly before exiting the library. Dave sat there for a moment, processing that John had just absconded in record time once again. It seemed like the kid had practice. He saw one of the librarians give him a warm smile and he left to find his next class. It turned out that the two didn't have any more classes together so Dave was forced to talk with some other students to pass the time. Some were alright but most proved to be less than desirable.

The ones he found most annoying were a group of 3 pretentious hipsters. He was pretty sure their names were Vriska, Eridan and Meenah but those names were just too odd to be real. He could tell that they thought themselves higher than the others and he didn't find that too cool, so he ignored them. At the end of class the three of them had given him a piece of paper with all of their phone numbers and contact information on it. Dave threw it in the first trash can he saw. The day finally ended and he exited the school. Once outside he saw a familiar smudge of light blue walking off campus. Knowing he wouldn't be able to catch up with the kid he shrugged and lit a cigarette to start the journey back to his apartment.

The wind was soft as it rustled the yellow and red autumn leaves, faintly he thought it sounded similar to a small stream. John had always liked the wind, he found it calming, even when it was violent and harsh. His black hair whipped around his face while he thought about his odd day. As he got to his house he broke out of his trance, his dad's car was in the driveway. This never happened. This wasn't good. _What should I do?_ He stood outside the house for a few minutes, contemplating his options. He didn't have any other option but go in and hope luck is on his side.

He found the door was unlocked and when he entered the living room the smell of cake greeted him. He was at a loss for words, he hadn't seen his dad in the kitchen for weeks, maybe even a month. He couldn't decide if this was a good or bad thing, but with optimism in his heart he was leaning towards good. He pulled off his yellow converse, placing them next to the door. His dad liked a clean house, he had made that clear many times in the past. He stalked to the kitchen, looking at his dad from the doorway. They made eye contact and when John heard a gruff "Go to your room Son," he knew better than to argue. He went to his room quietly. His bed looked exceptionally inviting so he placed his backpack next to his desk and collapsed into a pile of blankets. He faintly realizes he was crying before drifting into unconsciousness.

Your name is John Egbert and you think you had a good day.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing that registered in John's mind was fear. Overpowering, primal fear. His surroundings slowly started to clear but still all he could see was black. Black on top of more black. He was surrounded in it, drowning in something that felt very similar to tar. He needed to escape but he couldn't, he didn't know how, there was no way to get away from something that surrounded you. With that thought he let his mind succumb to panic, nothing made sense as figures started to appear from the darkness. Odd pure black men in various hats, a dog with a sword through it's chest. They worked together to push John deeper and deeper into the black. He took one last gasp before his face was covered and his vision flashed to a bright red.

John shot up from his bed, a light sweat coated his face as he struggled to figure out what was happening. Still unaware of what was going on he felt around his bed searching for his glasses. Once they were located he put them on and tried to orient himself. He couldn't do that, it was still dark out so his room was engulfed by moonlight. He was so damn confused, he couldn't think straight at all. All he could do was try to breathe. But he couldn't even do that, _why can't I breathe?_ He brought his hands to his throat in some odd attempt to try and force air into his lungs, or maybe it was to see if there was some obstruction to his windpipe. Nothing was working, he was completely lost until he heard a soft disembodied voice. He had heard this voice before in his dreams, listening in he could hear the voice giving him easy, simple commands.

"Breathe," He shook his head manically, trying to convey that he couldn't follow these directions. "Calm down, count your breaths. The wind is yours Heir, you command it, take back control." He nodded and counted out each breath with the voice. In; one, two, three. Out; one, two, three, four. And again. The voice kept counting for him, helping him breathe while he couldn't figure out how. After a few minutes he regained his place in reality, breath starting to even out. The voice retreated back into his subconscious and he was met with an eerie silence. This silence, however, was welcomed. It was much better than non-existent voices telling him what to do, even if they were just trying to help. He ended up sitting in the dark for what seemed like a long time. He never knew what to do after a nightmare so he usually just waited until he felt less out of sorts. The sun was starting to rise, illuminating his room in a warm orange light. It helped him put together his scrambled mind.

What he realized next was that he had fallen asleep right after school yesterday and he didn't do any schoolwork. Well this sucked, there was only an hour till school so he didn't have time to do anything but get ready for the day. He showered quickly and got dressed, his green slimer shirt accompanied by a grey cardigan and blue jeans. He found a cake on the table but even looking at it made him slightly nauseated so he turned away and practically sprinted out of the house. By the time he was on the street the bell was about to ring and class would start shortly after. Fall was becoming winter and the temperature outside wasn't exactly ideal for sprinting without a jacket but he would have to make due with what he had.

The only thing he was thinking about was his dad finding out he had been late to school, he really didn't want to deal with that. Once he was on campus he stopped running, not wanting to barge into class late and completely winded. He caught his breath and walked to the room, he was about 20 minutes late. He opened the door and all eyes were on him, it was extremely disconcerting. The teacher gave him a sideways glare but ignored him otherwise and continued to write equations on the board. John was glad the teacher didn't try to talk to him, that always made things hard. He took his seat next to Dave and pulled a notebook out of his backpack. But instead of writing the equations down he found himself staring at the wood grain on the desk. It looked just like the sky in some of his dreams. Layered and cut. Maybe he wasn't as coherent as he previously thought, _I probably should have stayed home_. He opened the notebook and started to scribble small doodles in the margins of his notes.

When Dave got to school he decided to take a stroll around in an attempt to familiarize himself to the layout of the buildings. He had gotten to school early today due to him using the car instead of walking. It was getting too cold for that shit. However, the new mode of transportation caused a time error on his part so he had almost 20 minutes to spare before school started. His nice little walk was interrupted by a group of students approaching him. Of course, it was the team of hipster douchebags he had ignored yesterday. At first he tried to walk away but he could tell they weren't going to give up.

"Hey Strider, what are you doing for lunch? If you don't have anywhere to go you can sit with us!" He watched as the girl tried to make herself look less desperate than she really was, it was slightly amusing to be honest. Dave was pretty sure this ones name stared with a v.  
  
"I have other plans." Dave said coolly, he didn't really have other plans. He was probably going to find the John kid again. It was time for the male to add something to this glorious conversation.  
  
"What are you going to be doing? I mean we would obviously be the better choice if your going off with some other people." Dave was straight up pissed by now. What the fuck was up with this kids accent. He sounded like he was choking.  
  
"I was planning on going to the fucking library if it concerns you so god damn much." The trio looked at each other and then back to Dave. It was the girl with braids turn to talk.  
  
"Why would you go there? There isn't anything worthwhile on that side of the school. You should just chill with us man." Dave was done with this conversation. He scoffed and walked away from the group of people.

The bell rang and he went to class. Entering, he saw that John wasn't here yet. Maybe he got sick, or maybe he was ditching. It didn't really matter, all he knew is that he didn't want to deal with anyone currently. 20 minutes into class everything was disrupted by the opening and closing of a door. He looked up and saw Egbert flash an apologetic half-smile to the teacher before he went to the back of class and sat down. Quite frankly Dave thought John looked alittle off. His bright blue eyes were clouded and for almost 5 minutes he just sort of stared at the desk, hardly even moving. After some time he seemed to break out of the trance and opened a notebook. But instead of writing notes he saw the boy drawing little doodles of creatures that he thought looked similar to salt and pepper shakers. They were somewhat odd looking but John was pretty good at drawing. The bell rang and John just sat there, causing Dave to become more concerned than before.

"Uh, John?" Dave called out to the other, trying to get his attention. John looked up and gave Dave a small grin. He started to pack his stuff to go to his next class but then he would have to deal with the hallways. The overcrowded, loud, dark hallways. On second thought, maybe he would wait for awhile before going to the next class. He didn't think he would be able to handle that many people. He was content to sit in astronomy and wait as the mass of people died down until he felt something pull on the sleeve of his cardigan.  
  
"Come on dude, you don't want to be late twice in one day." Dave's voice had a tone of concern but John didn't even notice. He just nodded and followed the taller boy like a lost dog. Dave faintly wondered if this is what John was usually like, he had only met him yesterday so he didn't really know.

John couldn't process much at the moment. He knew Dave dragged him out into the hall and that wasn't good. He wouldn't be able to navigate the halls in his current condition. He really didn't have another choice though, so he tried his best to follow Dave through the halls. Dave kept looking back at him with this really odd expression that John couldn't identify so he chose to ignore it. Surprisingly they made it to English without any difficulty. Once they were both sitting Dave looked at John straight on, trying to figure out what the fuck was up with him. John just closed his eyes and rested his head on the table, not noticing Dave literally staring at him. Dave was pretty sure John had no clue what was going on. He had so many questions but none of them seemed appropriate at the time so he let John rest. John just stayed that way, not moving when the bell rang or the teacher started talking.

The teacher handed out a partner project at the beginning of class, leaving the entire period for the groups to work on it. She explained how they were to analyze a speech and write a basic summary about the key points. It seemed easy enough and Dave mentally claimed John as his partner, even though John was seemingly sound asleep next to him. Throughout class 4 girls and 2 guys came up asking Dave if he needed a partner and each time he replied saying that he and John were working together. They all looked at him skeptically. When there was 15 minutes left in class Dave decided it was time to wake up John. He nudged his shoulder lightly and to his surprise, John looked up right away. Dave found it hard to believe that he slept through the teachers and students loud talking but a simple touch woke him up instantly. Maybe John hadn't really been asleep.

"We've got a project, I took the liberty of partnering us together. You're welcome. We might have gotten it done today but seeing as you slept straight through the whole damn class we'll have to meet up outside of school." John gave him a weary thumbs up and looked over the paper. They could easily finish the assignment in less than an hour, that was a relief. John wasn't to keen on seeing Dave outside of school so the sooner he could get this over with the better. By the end of class John was feeling a bit more like himself and was able to leave the room as soon as bell rang. Though this time he was pretty sure Dave was following him. He snuck a glance behind him and yes, Dave was 100% following him. With his mind somewhat agreeing with him again he realized how odd Dave was acting. Nobody had ever gone out if their way to be in a group with him. John had 'slept' through the whole class and Dave just let it happen, not even trying to get John to work on the project once. He was thankful, he didn't know how well he could work with the voices calling to him constantly. The next class passed and lunch was upon them once again.

Dave went straight to the library hoping he would be able to avoid the trio of idiots that seemed to pop up whenever he was alone. That and he was concerned for John, even though he really knew nothing about him Dave knew his behavior today wasn't normal. It was just a stark contrast of the John he had met yesterday. He entered the library and was greeted by the librarians. He waved to them and walked right to where he found John yesterday. He was curled up in one of the larger lounge chairs, his whole body somehow fitting nicely.

Dave noticed how incredibly small he looked, almost too skinny. His dainty arms were wrapped tightly around his legs and his head was tucked into his knees. There was no way John was asleep, Dave knew that for a fact. The pile of food that was next to John yesterday was absent today. He sat down in the lounge chair next to John and took out his phone. He saw no reason to bother John if he was so tired. That seemed like a dick move. He killed some time by browsing the Internet, occasionally getting pissed when a page wouldn't load. When he heard shifting next to him he saw John staring at him with an extremely confused expression.

"Good morning Sleeping Beauty, hungry?" He handed John a Snickers that he had bought yesterday. John looked at it for a moment before opening it and eating it all in almost one bite. Once he was finished chewing he took out his phone and typed out a message.  
  
_'thanks'_  
  
"No problem man, you look like you need it." He cleared his throat, looking for the right words, but nothing came to him. "Alright well, give me your number so we can figure out when to work on the project. I was hoping we could have finished it during lunch but it looks like we ran out of time again." Dave handed him his phone and after a few seconds John handed it back. Dave couldn't help but smile at John adding his full name to his contacts. The kid was just so oddly formal.

Lunch ended and they parted ways for the day. Unfortunately for John he was stopped by Meenah and Vriska before getting to class. He could tell they were not happy.  
  
"Why is Strider spending so much time with you?" Vriska starts, and Meenah wasn't too far behind.  
  
"He's been ignoring us for your mute ass. I can't even fathom why he's sticking around you. But you should know better than anyone that this small 'friendship' thing you got going here will never last."  
  
"It's pathetic really, for you to cling onto the new kid like he's your favorite comfort toy."  
  
"He probably just feels bad for you and he's too nice to tell you to fuck off like everyone else." The two of them look at each other and laugh.  
  
"So I guess we'll have to give you a little lesson called titled 'stay in your fucking lane'." And that's when John was pushed to the ground. He knew this would happen, it was only a matter of time really. This was his reasoning for ignoring Dave in the first place. He coughed and sputtered as the two girls kicked him in the stomach over and over. It hurt alot. But no matter how much pain he was in he wouldn't let himself cry. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction. He attempted to pick himself off the ground but a swift strike to his back prevented that from happening. The girls soon grew bored and went to their class, leaving John on the floor with a bad bloody nose. There was no way he would go back to class now. Using the wall as support he pushed himself off the ground and tried to stand. Once he was steady he walked out the first exit he could find. He needed to leave.

Dave found himself bored out of his mind once again. He was on his phone when the two hipster bitches walked in and sat next to the third member of their little makeshift gang. When asked where they were by the teacher they both responded with "bathroom". Dave found that alittle fishy but looked passed it and zoned out for what seemed like the 10th time that day. School ended and he made his way to his broken down truck. He saw Meenah basically running to him so he jumped in his car and took off before she could get near. He was 50 shades of done and not in the mood to deal with bullshit.

Once Dave arrived home he called out to see if his Bro was there. As per usual he got no answer. He spotted a $20 taped to his door and he assumed that was his dinner for tonight. Not that he was surprised, his Bro was to cool to bother with things like cooking. He pocketed the money and pulled out his phone. The group assignment was due tomorrow and he needed to get ahold of Egbert so they could meet up. He collapsed onto his bed and sent John a text.  
  
'yo when are you free to work on this speech bullshit'  
5 minutes passed, then 10 and then 20. Dave figured he was busy and opted to watch Netflix while he waited.

John had made it home in one piece but his cardigan wasn't doing too well. He had to use the sleeve to keep his nose from bleeding all over his favorite shirt so now the once light grey fabric was now stained a bright red. That was never coming out. He changed quickly and grabbed himself a slice of cake. It was odd, whenever he was down he ate the sugary treat in hopes it would lift his spirits. It never did, it mostly made him feel worse. So John just sat at the kitchen table crying softly as he ate cake. Oh what his dad would say if he saw him now. He was pathetic, utterly pathetic. His father would never be proud of him. He laughed at the thought. He finished his cake and washed the dishes.

He was going to his room when there was a sudden, unfamiliar buzz coming from his phone. The only person who had ever texted him was his dad so he was reasonably concerned. When he read the text it wasn't his dad, but Dave asking when he was free. Thinking back to class he remembered the group project they had to do, and how it was due tomorrow. That presented a few problems. John was in no shape to leave the house or have anyone over. Hell, he didn't remember the last time someone had come to their house in general. Realizing almost 30 minutes had passed since he received the text he tried to form a plan. If Dave came over for just an hour it wouldn't be so bad. He could deal with that. He unlocked his phone and texted back.

 _'is this dave?'_  
'well yeah dude who else did you give your number today are you some sort of undercover player egbert'  
 _'you can come over, just try to be gone before 6. this is my address [link]'_  
  
That was a normal sounding text, right? He got his answer because Dave texted back instantly  
  
'be there in 5'  
  
That was quick, alittle too quick. John jumped up and put on his blue sweatshirt before running to the bathroom to make sure he didn't have any blood on his face. He finished washing the last of the blood off his face and turned his attention to the bloody cardigan. He decided shoving that under his bed was the wisest course of action considering how pressed for time he was. As soon as the cardigan was hidden he heard his phone buzz.

'here'  
  
John took a deep, orienting breath. He could do this. They would just work on homework and Dave would leave. Then John could go back to his ignore Dave plan. He was brought out of his thoughts by another buzz  
  
'earth to john am i at the right place or what'  
  
When John opened the door Dave just walked right in. "Shit dude it's cold outside, kept me waiting. Thought I would freeze my ass off," He looked at John who was obviously not feeling too great about this get together. He had nervous energy basically radiating off him. He noticed John pointing to his shoes and he realized he wanted him to take them off. How fancy. Once Dave took off his shoes John lead him through the living room and up to his room. The house was so clean one might even say spotless. There was literally nothing out of place, everything was vacuumed, dusted and arranged meticulously. It almost seemed too perfect, like it was making up for something fundamentally wrong underneath. The only thing out of the ordinary was an occasional harlequin doll but Dave couldn't complain about that. It was better than puppet ass jumping out left and right. Once in his room John turned on the light and shut the door. Dave was greeted by even more clean. The only way you could tell that someone lived in here was the unmade bed.

"Wow dude, your house is really spiffy." Dave observed, John nodded and pulled out his phone.  
  
_'my dad enjoys cleaning.'_  
  
"I can tell," he looked around for any sort of disorder and found nothing out of place. "Should we work on the project? No offense but you look all kinds of tired and I don't want to be a bother." John nodded and pulled the homework out of his backpack. They finished the assignment in 20 minutes, much less time than they both anticipated. This left them sitting on Johns bed awkwardly.  
  
"Fuck, I'd feel weird if I just stayed here for 20 minutes and left. Do you have a movie we could watch or something?"  
  
_'the only movies i have are in that corner.'_ John handed Dave the phone and pointed to his DVD holder. Dave got up to look through his collection and couldn't stifle his laughter when he saw the titles.  
  
"Oh my god dude, you have literally the worst choice in movies I've ever seen. Why do you have two copies of Con Air?!" He was surprised to see johns phone basically shoved into his face.  
  
_'these movies are cinematic masterpieces and nothing you can say will make me think otherwise. con air is a great film, have you even seen it? like sat down and watched the thing all the way through?! because if you had you would not have that reaction.'_  
  
Dave was shocked, that was the most he had gotten John to say to him. The kid was funny! "Egbert, holy shit, don't get your panties in a twist. I'm sure all of these Nic Cage movies are _great_  but I'm not too down for an overacted airplane ride right now." John pouted, the kid fucking pouted and began to type something. Then he erased it. Then he started typing again.  
  
_'I really don't have anything else, I guess we could watch TV downstairs.'_ Dave could see that John was very unsure about his own words. Not wanting to make the kid even more uncomfortable he backed off.  
  
"It's fine dude, I need to be heading home anyways. Gotta buy myself a pizza and throw down some sick fires."

John tried his best to ignore the comment about pizza but it didn't work. His stomach let out a small, embarrassing growl and he did his best to hide the pathetic noise. He opened his door and basically ushered Dave down the stairs. John wanted to be alone before his stomach really started to flip out and yell at him for the lack of food. As soon as Dave had his shoes on John showed him a message saying he had a good time and just about pushed him out the door. As the door closed he knew what just happened was extremely rude but he couldn't bring himself to care. He needed Dave to leave him alone, he couldn't deal with more Vriska, Meenah and Eridan beatings. That was just out of the question. And the more Dave talked to him the more John started to like him, that was far too dangerous. John grabbed a slice of bread from the kitchen and locked himself in his room. He needed to work on distancing himself from Dave, he just needed to figure out how.

Your name is Dave Strider and you have no idea what the fuck just happened. You thought you were having a good time with your new bro John but then he basically kicked you out if his house. Dave said he needed to leave but damn, he didn't realize he was that unwanted. It was going so well, what went wrong? He lit a cigarette and climbed into his car. _Did I say something wrong? Maybe it was the comment about pizza...or maybe fires? Maybe he didn't get the figure of speech._ Dave was at a loss. Just as he pulled out of johns driveway he saw John staring at the car through his window nibbling on a slice of bread. It was kinda cute _/what? no./_ but he couldn't help but wonder why he was eating it in such an odd manner. He drove off thinking about johns extreme reaction to his offhand comment about his horrible movie taste and smiled. No matter how hard John tried to avoid Dave, he made a promise to himself that he wouldn't give up on their poorly developed friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly i wrote this so long ago i don't remember why i chose vriska meenah and whoever the hell else for the bullies bc i HAVE NOTHING AGAINST THEM MEENAH IS MY MAIN GAL 100%  
> i'm too lazy to change it now though so... //shrug


	3. Chapter 3

John had just finished downloading the latest version of a stupid indie game he enjoyed when a loud slam echoed through his house. He cringed, this wasn't good at all. His dad was obviously not in too great of a mood. The door to his room was locked but he knew it would only keep him back for so long. Holding his breath, John listened to see if his dad was coming up the stairs. To his dismay he heard the freezer door open and a glass fill with ice. He assumed his dad had bought a bottle earlier and was just now opening it. It was quiet for a few minutes, the only thing John could hear was the fast beating of his heart. If he was going to be honest he was terrified. Then heard what he really didn't want to. His dad was coming upstairs, when he heard his door unlock his mind went blank. He just stopped thinking.

"John, why were you counted absent for half the day?" His dad was in the doorway and the look on his face told john that this conversation wasn't going to be a pretty one. He pulled out his phone to reply but wasn't able to because his dad took it from his hands and threw it across the room. There was a shatter when it hit the wall and he could only guess that the screen broke. Wonderful.

"I don't want your excuses." Ah, now comes the hard part. His dad started walking closer and John tried to step back but hit the wall. There was no getting away from this apparently. When he looked at his dad it seemed to anger him more and in a few seconds he felt himself being lifted off the ground by his neck. He gasped and tried to pry the hand from his throat but was stopped by a harsh slap across his face. He would have hissed in pain but he was too busy choking.

"Stop that."

John obeyed and stopped his futile struggle, letting his hands go limp against his sides. He was lifted into the air just a little bit higher before his dad let go, letting him fall to the ground harshly. He coughed as air flowed back into his bruised windpipe and aching lungs. Immediately after he was able to breathe dad started kicking him right where Vriska and Meenah had been abusing him earlier that day. But unlike last time he let himself cry. He just couldn't help it. He still loved his dad, quite a lot actually. So he couldn't help but cry when the only person he cared about started to beat him senseless.

"Stop crying, would you man up for once? I'm ashamed to call you my son." Another kick and his face was grabbed, forcing him to look his dad straight in the eyes. "I better not get another call from the school saying you were late or absent. Do you understand me John?" He nodded and then his dad was gone. Just as fast as he came he left John trembling and crying on the floor of his room. He placed his hands on his throat triggering another fit of coughing. He could taste blood, that was never a good sign. He was numb, utterly numb. Nothing came to mind as he saw blood fall from his mouth to hands. John was starting to black out when he heard a buzz from across the room. His phone in the corner lit up so he slowly crawled to it's location finding the screen cracked, just like he expected. It could still function. at least it wasn't broken. He would have to go back to communicating through written note though.

The text he received was from Dave, it confused him a bit. He would have expected Dave to be upset with him because of his earlier 'I'm literally kicking you out of my house right now' stunt. He was half expecting a malicious text but that's not what he got. His eyes grew wide in shock when he read the message.

'do you want a ride to school'  
'your house is literally right next to my apartment and it's getting pretty cold out so walking will probably suck'  
''i mean it just started snowing so let me know'

John was confused and his pounding head wasn't making this situation any easier to comprehend. Why was Dave being so nice? Nobody had ever been this nice to him in the past. It would be easier to make sure he was at school on time if Dave drove him... he just didn't want Vriska or the others to figure out he was still in contact with Dave. So he weighed his options; getting hit by his dad or 3 of his peers. Well, the choice was rather obvious if he thought about it like that. Although it took a few attempts with his shaking hands he was able to text Dave back.

 _'that would actually be really helpful, thanks.'_  
He dropped his phone when it buzzed again, he wasn't use to texting so each incoming message shocked him a bit.  
  
'no problem dude ill be there by like 7:15'  
'goodnight john'  
  
John smiled at the last text, maybe getting to know Dave wasn't that bad of an idea. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, letting himself pass out.

Dave decided to get a pizza before he went home like he had told John. He didn't actually know any of the restaurants from this town so he stopped at the first pizza place he saw. After getting a medium cheese he dropped by a grocery store to get apple juice. As he was checking out he saw a business man in a fedora buying a bottle of rum at the connected liquor store. Dave thought that he looked a lot like John. They had the same black hair and blue eyes. Dave payed for the sweet apple extract and drove back to his apartment. When he parked and exited the car he saw the sky was turning a light grey. This was very different from the pitch black night they had yesterday. His breath left puffs of steam in the air as a few small snowflakes fell onto his hand. It didn't snow much back in Texas so this was a pretty new experience.

Inside, he turned on Netflix and started eating. It wasn't the best pizza he'd tasted but it was better than nothing. As he ate his second piece his mind wandered to John, he noticed that was happening alot lately. He couldn't help it, he wanted to know more about the kid. Dave was pretty sure John walked to school everyday and seeing how it was snowing right now that could pose a problem. He didn't want his new bro to get sick or anything, maybe he could offer him a ride to school. Actually, that seemed like a really good idea. He took out his phone and texted John. He was surprised to see John start to type almost instantly, but it took a few minutes for the actual reply to come. He was happy to see that John had agreed to getting a ride. This would be a good way to get to know John, he couldn't avoid his ride to school. He didn't get a reply after that but he wasn't really expecting one. He finished almost all of the pizza and apple juice and by 1 AM he was asleep.

Dave was woken up by the buzzing of his alarm and he was pissed. He didn't want to wake up, he was having a wonderful dream about getting a new computer and turntables that weren't broken. He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He really wanted to stay home today, he could do it easily. Bro wouldn't care at all, he probably wouldn't even know. But there was one thing in the way of him staying at home and that thing was John. He couldn't ditch the day after offering a ride, that would probably confuse him and give the wrong message.

He sat up and turned off his alarm trying to fight off the sleepiness with movement. It wasn't working too well, his eyes kept closing and he would fall asleep for 30 second intervals. To avoid actually falling asleep he went to the kitchen to make coffee. He started a pot and went to take a shower and get ready. It was now 7 and Dave was standing in front of the coffee pot, glaring daggers at the machine. He shifted, waiting for the last of the pot to be filled. As soon as he heard a beep indicating the coffee was done he poured almost half of the contents into a mug and grabbed two pop tarts off the counter. Pulling a large brown jacket over his red t shirt he left to pick up John.

John woke up not knowing where he was. His whole body hurt and when he finally registered that he was on the floor his head started to pound. This was going to be a long day. He picked himself off the floor carefully and walked over to his beeping alarm to shut it off. Taking a shower was out of the question so he just brushed his teeth and hair before changing out of his clothes from yesterday. Every movement hurt his stomach, which had a large almost black bruise covering it. He knew putting on an actually decent outfit was not happening so he put on a black turtleneck sweater to hide the developing bruise on his neck and grey pants. Before he knew it the time read 7:05, Dave would arrive at his house soon. He grabbed two Tylenol from the kitchen and took it without water. When he heard an engine outside he grabbed his jacket, backpack and phone before leaving his house, locking the door behind him.

Once in the car John greeted Dave with a weak smile. Dave smirked back and handed him one of the pop tarts. He accepted it gladly and started eating the apple pie flavored pastries. It was too sweet for his liking but he was really hungry, at least it wasn't cake. The car was warm and smelled like coffee and cigarettes, it was pretty comforting honestly. He didn't mind the smell of cigarettes, his dad had the distinct aroma of tobacco and shaving cream so he was use to it. When they stopped at a stoplight Dave plugged in his iPod and started to play some sick beats. John also found this relaxing and he let his eyes close, drifting off slightly. Once in the parking lot Dave nudged John in an attempt to wake him up. It took a few more tries till his eyes fluttered open and a small, silent sigh escaped his throat. John looked around before figuring out what was going on. He unbuckled the seat belt and climbed out the car, meeting Dave on the other side.

"Good morning John," Dave greeted. John pulled a notebook and pen out of his backpack and scribbled his response.  
  
_'good morning dave, thanks for picking me up.'_  
  
"Not a problem bro. How was your night after I left?" Dave felt a pang of concern in his chest when his smile faltered a bit.  
  
_'it was fine, nothing much happened, i just fell asleep. how was your night?'_  
  
"It was good, I didn't do much either. Watched Netflix and that's about it. Do you need a ride home too?" He watched the pen hover over the paper, it looked like he was having an internal battle. "It's really not out of the way at all, I live right down your street so I would pass your house anyways." That seemed to convince him.  
  
_'that would be nice, thank you dave.'_ John smiled and he smiled in response. He was happy to see he was doing better than he was yesterday, or so it seemed. Dave wasn't aware of the worsening bruises under his loose black turtleneck or the pressure headache building behind his eyes. But he wasn't hearing any voices, so in retrospect he was having a better day than yesterday.

They walked around campus for awhile in silence, Dave enjoyed not having to maintain constant conversation with someone. This was just one of the many things he had started to like about being with John. He didn't feel the need to be overly ironic or cool around him, he could just be, and that was refreshing. They took a turn and were face to face with Eridan and Meenah. Thankfully, Vriska wasn't anywhere to be seen. Both groups stopped walking and John visibly paled, Dave noticed and glared at the other two people.

"Strider, Egbert." Eridan said with a smug smile.  
  
"Sup." Dave greeted.  
  
"Nothing much, how're you doing cool kid?" Meenah replied, completely ignoring how Dave cringed at the words.  
  
"I'm fine. Can we help you?" Dave asked impatiently. He felt John shift behind him, it looked like he was either trying to hide or get away.  
  
"Not really, we just saw you passin' and thought we would say hello."  
  
"Alright, well, hello. Goodbye." Dave grabbed the other boys hand and walked away. John was shaking, he didn't think something like that would happen. He should have realized someone would see them together. He just wondered how long he could avoid them when he was alone. The thought scared him, he didn't want to reply on anyone for protection. Once a good distance from the others Dave stopped walking and turned his attention to John.

"John, are you alright?" Dave watched as he retracted his hand and took a breath. It was fairly obvious he wasn't alright but Dave felt he needed to ask. He nodded but refused to look at him in the eyes. That wasn't telling at all. "What's up dude, like, you're shaking. Shits not normal." He just shook his head, denying anything was wrong. Dave decided to drop the subject for now, class was almost upon them and he wanted to give him time to calm down. "If you say so. Let's go to class alright?" They went to class and they day started to progress like any other.

They exchanged words occasionally through class, Dave never really payed attention to the teachers when he had John in a class with him. He found John's face much more entertaining. The other students had started to notice the way Dave watched him and the soft smile he gave him when the other wasn't looking. Of course, he was oblivious as ever. He just continued to write notes and doodle the weird salt and pepper shaker creatures. Dave made a mental note to ask what they were at a later date. They certainly looked humanoid, but they weren't human. He thought that maybe they were from a video game. Class ends and another begins, that's the endless cycle of public schooling.

When lunch starts John is surprised to find Dave waiting outside his class. He wasn't even sure when Dave figured out his schedule or how he got out of class early but he wasn't complaining. If he wasn't alone it was a lot less likely that he would get harassed. Everyone seemed to like Dave even though he treated most of them like dirt. During lunch they don't say much to eachother, Dave just watched as John ate literally anything he can get his hands on. He blushed slightly when he saw him staring but he just kept eating. For the amount of food the kid seemed to eat he was still too damn skinny.

"John" Dave starts and John looks at him, mouth full of a bite of apple. "I wanted to ask why you acted so weird earlier." He looked away and set down the fruit to fish out a paper to write on.  
  
_'i don't know what you're talking about.'_  
  
Dave frowns but says nothing more, it was slightly offensive to have someone lying to his face but he obviously wasn't going to provide an explication.  
  
"Right, if you say so. Do you want to meet me in the parking lot after school?" John nods in agreement, taking another bite of apple. Hours pass and before Dave knows it he's waiting for John outside of his car. It's been 5 minutes since school ended and he was starting to become concerned. John was a pretty punctual person and he usually saw him walking home by now. Just then he saw him basically running to the car, his hair was alittle more disheveled than usual and Dave could swear he was limping. He made eye contact and climbed into the car. They drove home in silence, John seemed to be making an effort to avoid his gaze. He pulled up in front of his house.  
  
"I'll see you on Monday." John stared and closed the car door, walking into his house. Dave was 100% sure he was had a limp that wasn't there earlier. What happened?

Once in the house John collapsed. His ankle was throbbing and he was pretty sure it was twisted, if not broken. School had ended and John rushed out class like any other day. But what met him wasn't part of his normal routine, Eridan was waiting for him. He pulled John to him by his hair and dragged him into an abandoned science lab. Once in the lab Eridan tripped him, making John fall on his face and catch his foot under a desk. He felt something pop in a way it really shouldn't have and let out an involuntary gasp. Pulled up by his hair again he saw a very angry hipster glaring at him.

"You're making Vriska very upset Egbert. You're lucky it's me here and not her." He let go and John scrambled towards the door. "I guess I'm just here to deliver a wwarnin, stop hangin out with Dave." That's when he regained his composure and bolted out of the lab and straight to Dave's car. And now he was home, trying to figure out what was wrong with his ankle. It seemed alright, swollen but not broken. That was good news. He struggled to walk to the kitchen and grabbed an ice pack from the freezer. Going up the stairs was harder than he wanted to admit but he made it to his room. Once on his bed he put the ice pack on his ankle, noting it was already bruising. He was asleep in minutes.


	4. Chapter 4

Waking up at 1 in the afternoon was a very relieving break from the tiring school week. Dave hardly ever went to school in Texas so him going for a whole week straight had made for an extremely exhausted blonde by Friday. He decided to stay in bed for a few more hours, catching up on online comics. He just couldn't figure out where he left off… By the time he caught up it was 3 PM and his stomach was calling for food. Sliding out of bed he put on his shades and walked to the living room. But, he was greeted by an odd sight, Bro was standing in front of the stove cooking something in a pink apron. Dave stopped dead in his tracks, he didn't know if he should laugh or run. Just then Bro turned around and looked at him. At least he thought he looked at him, it was hard to tell over the anime shades. He was really hard to read, even harder than Dave and that was saying something.

"Sup."  
"Hey Bro, what are you doing?"  
"I'm making crepes, do you want some?"  
"Uh, sure?"

Dave sat on the couch while he watched Bro shuffle around the kitchen. His bro hadn't cooked him anything before and he was alittle scared. The food might be horrible, or maybe a prank, or it might even turn out to be good. He didn't know what to expect at all. His attention turned to Cal who once again showed up out of nowhere. His gaze was just so empty and unnerving. He was relieved when Bro handed him a plate of two crepes filled with Nutella and topped off with a healthy dose of powdered sugar. It looked really good, almost too good. He was suspicious and he didn't even know why. Bro was just watching. It was getting awkward so he took a bite and ate. It wasn't half bad. The Nutella had an odd earthy taste to it but it wasn't horrible. Letting his appetite take over he finished the meal in under 2 minutes. When he looked up Bro had a large smirk on his face. That wasn't a good sign.

"Dave."  
"What?"  
"Want to know the secret ingredient that makes those crepes special?"  
"Sure."  
"There is weed in the Nutella."  
"You can't be serious." Dave waited for him to take it back but he never did, "Bro, you're kidding right?" The only answer he got was a larger smirk. "BRO! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!"  
"Haha calm down little buddy. There's no going back now. Just sit your fine Strider ass on that couch and get your chill on." Bro was obviously very pleased with himself, eating the Nutella off a spoon.  
"Bro I can't even begin to tell you how utterly FUCKED UP this is, who does that? You basically just drugged me! Holy shit…"  
"Oh my god, Dave, it's not that big of a deal. Just sit there, watch some Bill Nye on Netflix to calm your shit. It will be worse if you're all tense and pissed off. You should be thankful if I'm going to be honest. I'm sharing my beautiful Nutella hash with you. I made you a fucking crepe that was so good you didn't even realize it had the devil's lettuce in it. If anything I'm a good brother, the best. The fucking best."  
"Are you even listening to what you're saying? Fuck. You know what, never mind. I will 'sit there and watch Bill Nye'." He added air quotes at the end for emphasis.

He got up, turned on the Playstation 4 and opened Netflix. 30 minutes in Dave was starting to feel alittle odd. He really didn't want to get off the couch and everything was slightly slower than usual. He hadn't realized Bro was sitting next to him snickering slightly every now and again at the show. Cal was sitting in the middle of them, which was fine. Totally cool. Cal wasn't creepy at all. They were bros. Best bros. Puppets are great. So. Fucking. Great.

"Bro."  
"Yeah?"  
"This isn't too bad…"  
"I told you, you just need to relax. Moving sucked for both of us."  
"I guess."

They went back to the TV, now watching some random anime Bro picked. It looked like it was about a schoolgirl with magical powers. He wasn't paying much attention, his mind wasn't focusing on one thing for more than 5 minutes. He suddenly really wanted to talk to John so that's exactly what he did. He pulled out his phone and typed the first thing that came to mind.

John woke up with a swollen ankle that he couldn't really move. When he looked at it there was a nasty yellow bruise with a large concentration of purple in one spot. It wasn't the worse bruise he'd experienced so he wasn't too concerned. Hopefully the swelling would go down by Monday. Rolling around in bed was his best idea for the time being. After awhile of this he was growing restless so he decided to go on his computer. He ended up playing a random video game. He spends a few hours doing this, trying to keep his mind busy. During the final boss he heard a faint buzz coming from his bed. He got up from the computer and instantly fell over. Apparently walking was a bad idea. He knew he should probably wrap his ankle but today was his dad's day off so he didn't want to get the Ace bandage from the hall and run the risk of alerting him. It was days like this he didn't leave his room, he stayed locked up with no food leaving only to go to the bathroom. Once on his bed he looked at his phone. Dave had texted him. Great.

'hey bro whats upizzle'  
_'hi dave, nothing really. how are you?'_  
'im good dude just watching something with my bro'  
_'that's cool.'_ John didn't really know what to say. He never texted anyone and so far he found this conversation really awkward. It didn't seem to phase Dave in the slightest though so maybe it was just him.  
'john'  
'egbert'  
'eggs'  
'egderp  
_'uh, yeah?'_  
'you got a pesterchum'  
_'i do."_ Even though he never used it he felt it would be weird to not have one.  
'well dont leave a brother hanging whats your handle'  
_'ectoBiologist'_  
'word bird mine is turntechGodhead ill pester you sometime'  
_'alright. i have to go, i'll talk to you later.'_  
'ok'  
'lets hang out sometime maybe at my house i have netflix and video games my bro is chill hes not usually at the apartment though'

John covered his face with his hands and sighed. Well sigh isn't the right word, more like let out an odd airy breath. It was getting more and more obvious that Dave wasn't going to leave him alone anytime soon. It would usually be nice, flattering even, but he really needed to cut off any involvement with Dave. He had a predicament. He decided to take a nap to try and ignore the hunger pains that had started. Maybe he would be less hungry when he woke up.

Once John said goodbye Dave was bored again. Bro had fallen asleep next to him, shades sliding down his nose slightly. He hadn't seen his bro so relaxed in a long time and it was freaking him out alittle. He decided that leaving the living room was the best course of action and stumbled back to his room. The weed crepes didn't effect him as much as he thought they would, if anything they just made him alittle spacey and tired. Maybe Bro really did just want to relax, he did make a whole meal for him. Who knows. All Dave knew is that he was very tired and decided to take a nap until something exciting happened.

A knock on the door woke John out of his light sleep. His heart skipped a beat and he waited for his dad to say something, "John wake up, we're going to get something to eat. Put on something warm, it's snowing."

So today was one of the days that his dad acted like a real father, that made him happy. He got out of bed and proceeded to fall flat on his face. He had forgot about his injury. That would pose some problems. after putting on a sweatshirt and a jacket John hopped down the stairs to where his dad was. When his dad saw how he was walking worry flashed across his face.

"What's wrong with your leg son?" Knowing his dad didn't inflict this injury he assumed it would be alright to show him. He lifted his pant leg and showed the worsening bruise underneath. His dad sighed and walked away to get the Ace bandage out of the closet in the upstairs hallway.

"Sit down." John wobbled to the couch and sat down, his dad sat next to him and started to unroll the bandage. "Give me your leg," When he did his dad looked at it with a concerned expression. He started wrapping his ankle, all his movements soft and gentle. John couldn't help but hold his breath. He was so happy that his dad was being nice to him, he wanted this to last forever. But he knew it wouldn't, so he just cherished every moment. Once finished he gave Johns leg a light pap, "Try to be more careful John, that's a pretty bad sprain. Let's go, I'll be waiting for you in the car."

They drove in silence, some talk radio station playing at a very low volume in the background. Once his dad parked John followed him into the burger restaurant. Just then John remembered how extremely hungry he was. They were seated by a pretty blonde girl with bright green eyes. They both got regular hamburgers, mostly because his dad assumed John wanted the same as him. Not being able to talk often made going places with people an awkward experience but it didn't seem to bother his dad. He just talked about work and cakes and jokes while John sat quietly. He marveled at the fact they were having a conversation, no matter how one sided. Exchange of words never really happened unless his dad was yelling at him so he was basically listening like his dad was preaching the new bible. They ate and were home far too soon in John's opinion. Right before he went back to his bedroom he heard his dad say his name.

"John, listen to me. I know it's hard dealing with some of the things that I do but I want you to know I love you. I am, and always will be, proud of you. Goodnight son." John nodded and went to his room. Once he locked his door he couldn't stop the tears and the strangled cry that left his throat. His dad was being so nice. So fucking nice. Why couldn't it always be like this? He fell onto his bed and sobbed into his pillow shamelessly, like a child who's favorite toy had just been broken. Little did he know his dad was listening from outside the door, riddled with guilt and regret. Like always he turned to the bottle to suppress these feelings.

Your name is John Egbert and you think you had another good day.


	5. Chapter 5

The weekend passed with no more extreme events, Bro had left again. He said he needed to go to another town for a bit, Dave didn't bother to listen. It happened more often than not so he was use to it. He basically had the whole apartment to himself all the time. Despite that, it was still riddled with puppets and traps so he could hardly call it comfortable. But Bro gave him a good sum of money for food so he couldn't complain. John passed the time drawing and playing video games. He talked to Dave from time to time but the conversations never lasted long. He just couldn't think of any good conversation topics, maybe he was just thinking too hard? Regardless, talking to Dave was easier than talking to anyone else.

Currently John was sitting in his room at 3 AM, he had woken up from a relatively good dream. The good dreams consisted of him spending time with a black haired girl in round glasses and dog ears. They sat together in his living room, talking and playing video games, it was fun. He noticed some things were off, his house had holes in random places and the overall feeling was just different. That was normal, his dreams were pretty weird in general. Now he was drawing the girl, he had started drawing scenes and people from his dreams years ago. It was relaxing, somewhat therapeutic. He thought of the people from the pleasant dreams as old friends and it brought them closer. It also helped him sort his thoughts and remember that these things were his dreams and not reality. It was hard to differentiate the two sometimes. Finishing her robes he set the notebook aside and tried to get a few more hours of sleep.

Monday morning is hard for everyone, that tends to be a universal constant. But Dave was feeling that on a whole new level. The sun was too bright, the alarm was too loud, the apartment was too cold and he hated his life. He wrapped his blankets around himself and teetered to the kitchen to start his day and his coffee. Then he saw something that made him want to punch a wall and cry at the same time.

They were out of coffee beans, they had no instant mix, they had nothing. There was only some hot chocolate mix and coffee filters. After a moments thought Dave decided hot chocolate would do fine. Anything that was warm and could prevent his hands from freezing off would be beneficial in this situation. After he made the drink he saw that the clock read 6:55, he had to get John soon. Shit. Making the hot chocolate took alot longer than he expected. He got ready in record time and made it to his car before 7:05.

John woke up easily but got ready slowly, he wasn't looking forward to the day ahead. His ankle had just stopped hurting and the bruise was much less severe than on satuday. But still, it wasn't an easy feat walking large distances and he seemed to be tripping quite a bit. The worst of which being when he fell into the kitchen counter. That hurt terribly and left a substantial mark. So today he was hoping he could maintain his footing and stay upright. If he tripped in the hallway he knew it wouldn't turn out well. Avoiding that would be ideal. Sighing, he took the last piece of bread out of the bag and started his wait for Dave. Dave had told him several times over the weekend how excited he was to show him some sick fires. John assumed that was his music, at least he hoped that's what he meant. Just then he heard the rattle of Dave's truck so he left for another tiring day at school.

In the car he noticed Dave looked alittle frazzled, that and there was a lack of the coffee scent he had been engulfed in last time. He looked at Dave quizzically, trying to convey his message of _'are you ok?_ '. Dave either ignored the look or he didn't see it. He just drove off into the direction of the school. John hoped he wasn't mad at him, that would be bad. He didn't think he did anything wrong, but who knows. His dad got upset at him for things he didn't think were a big deal. Like where he put laundry, or how he washed the few dished he used. He had begun to think he was quite clueless on what to do in regular day to day situations. His Dad just got annoyed that he couldn't do things the way a normal human could. That must be the reason he got so mad at him...right? Anyways, he prayed Dave wasn't upset with him. That would cause alot of issues that he, quite frankly, couldn't deal with.

They drove in silence, a large lack of sick fires in the air. John was getting nervous. Today he decided he would be as accommodating towards Dave as he could. Maybe then he would be less tense. They pulled into the school parking lot and exited the car. John retrieved a notebook and pen out of his backpack in case Dave decided to talk to him. A prompt answer is less annoying than having to watch someone sift through their backpack to find something to write on. They didn't talk for awhile, in fact it wasn't until they were sitting in class did John decide to say something.

 _'thank you for getting me again. are you doing alright?'_  
"Yeah, no problem man. I'm doing fine. I just had to substitute my daily coffee intake with hot chocolate. It put me alittle on edge."  
_'that's unfortunate, couldn't you buy something from the vending machines?'_  
"They have those here?"  
_'yeah i can take you there if you want.'_  
"Why the hell not, we have like 10 minutes until class anyways."

  
They got up and exited the class, John making sure to grab his notebook on the way out. He lead Dave through the school to a line of vending machines next to the lunch room.  
  
"Holy shit dude this is like a gold mine. There is some apple juice in this one! Wow, I can't believe I hadn't seen these before. Thanks Egderp."  
_'no problem.'_  
"Do you want anything? Bro gives me more than enough money everyday so it's cool."  
_'i'm ok, thank you though.'_ Although John could go for some food he didn't want to use Daves money. He had no way to pay him back.  
"Alright. Let me know if you change your mind."

Dave bought coffee, apple juice and two bags of Doritos. He was planning on giving one of the bags to John at lunch. He had figured out that the key to Johns heart was food, and he was happy to oblige. His too small body was troublesome to Dave, to him it looked like he hardly ate. This was contrary to how much John seemed to eat at school. He would look into this issue eventually, he just didn't know how. It's not like he could ask him if he was eating right, that seemed highly invasive. He would have to use his top sleuthing skills to investigate.

Back in class the two exchanged a few more words before the bell rang. John was happy he could get Dave his caffeine, he seemed to be in a better mood now. He was once again babbling on about random things. Sometimes John found the conversations hard to follow but he was content with listening to him talk about crows and turntables. He started drawing little crows all over the page he was using to write his responses. Dave enjoy them and make that quite obvious to John. He took out a red pen and started drawing Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff style things next to the birds. They ended up filling the page with random doodles. John drawing what Dave now called the salt and pepper people and him drawing his signature characters. Both of them having more fun than they were willing to admit.

"What are these?" Dave pointed to one of the black creatures.  
_'prospitians'_ he wrote under the white one. _'dersites'_ he wrote under the black one.  
"So are they like from a game or something?"  
_'no i dream about them sometimes.'_  
"Are they like different species?"  
_'they aren't human if that's what you mean, but they are the same species.'_  
"Cool." Dave didn't comment on how John basically had a small backstory to the creatures. They went back to doodling, Dave trying to draw his own little Dersites. John loved the drawings but he felt they didn't have the same feeling as the ones John drew.

They were having such a good time that both of them were quite surprised when the bell rang signaling the end of class. John panicked, he wouldn't be able to leave class before everyone else. He put on his backpack and left class with Dave in tow. But once he got to the hall he stopped dead in his tracks. There was a lot of people, he wouldn't be able to go through them without falling and getting lost in the crowd. It seemed Dave somehow picked up on his apprehension and took the lead through the mass of students. It was easier to navigate behind Dave, he was tall and people payed more attention to him. He almost tripped and fell on his face but Dave's back was there to save him from that fate. He thought Dave would get mad at the sudden contact but he didn't comment. He just looked at John with a slightly confused expression.

Once in class a few students tried talking to Dave. He recognized them as Karkat, Gamzee, Sollux and Tavros. John was starting to think that he and Dave were the only people with normal names in this school. Dave was being slightly more personable than usual, he must not hate these kids as much as he hates the others. Throughout the conversation it was evident that he was starting to get annoyed. They left once the teacher started lecturing, going back to their table and snickering every once in awhile. The teacher assigned a research paper and started teaching about the proper use of commas. He was bored out of his mind and Dave wasn't doing much better, in fact he was using his phone out in the open. He wasn't trying to be subtle at all and for some reason he was never told to put the device away. John put his head down and waited for class to end.

John and Dave parted ways to go 3rd period. John had this class with Meenah and Vriska so he wasn't looking forward to the inevitable encounter. He just hoped Dave would be waiting for him after class like every other day. The glares from Vriska were making him extremely uneasy. Once class ended John tried to leave the room quickly. Unfortunately, the two girls weren't having any of that. They stopped him before he could make it down the hall. Dave wasn't waiting for him and they found this as a golden opportunity to harass John. They trapped him, waiting for people to leave before they started speaking.

"I really don't get how you can be so stupid. Like how many times have we told you to fuck off?" Vriska asked, face contorted to an angry scowl.  
"We've given you ample time to sever ties with him and you haven't done that. At all. You got closer. What's your endgame here?" Meenah was about 5 inches from his face, trying her best to look intimidating. It was working pretty well.  
"Are you actually trying to becoming friends with him? What a joke."  
"Eventually he'll learn how utterly pathetic you are and leave. Like everyone else." Meenah pulled him close by the collar of his shirt and proceeded to slap his across the face. Hard. He couldn't help the sharp breath he took in. He would be in trouble if this situation escalated any more.

Dave had been held after class, the teacher was pretty mad at him. Since his arrival he hadn't done any of the work. They told him that this was a required class that he needed to pass in order to graduate, he assured them that he would get the work in and left the room quickly. He went to the library to hang out with John but he was nowhere to be found. Next he looked in the lunch room thinking that he might be getting food. He wasn't in the lunch line either. His next location was the classroom. He turned into the hallway to Johns class and saw the two hipster girls next to John. One of them had a hold on his shirt and when he heard a pretty loud slap he snapped into pissed Dave mode.

"What in the ever loving fuck do you think you're doing?" Dave had an edge to his voice and for the first time since they met John was scared of him.

"Uh, we were just...talking to John. Yeah." Vriska stuttered out, looking quite nervous. Meenah had let go of John and both of them attempted to abscond. Just as Dave was going stop them he looked at John. He looked terrified, absolutely panicked. He decided talking to the girls could wait, John needed his help. He walked to him and sat down. He heard Johns breath was slightly uneven but it wasn't out of control. He did the only thing that came to mind and took john's hands in his own. He found them shaking and he felt his stomach twist in sympathy.

"John are you okay?" John gave no answer, he just held Dave's hands alittle tighter. Dave frowned, assuming that meant he wasn't okay. "Do you want to go to the library?" John nodded softly and Dave helped him to his feet. They walked side by side, Dave watching John from the corner of his eye. He was quite troubled by the situation he had just witnessed. Once in the library they sat down and he took Johns hands once again. It seemed to help and John never objected. They sat like that awhile, Dave rubbing light circles on the back of johns hands while he listened as Johns breathing evened out. Once he deemed John calm enough he squeezed his hands one last time before letting go.

"John," he took a breath, "Does that happen alot?" John didn't to look at him, he just kept his hands in his lap and stared at them. After a few moments he pulled out a notebook and started writing. He scratched out his messages a few times before he handed the page to Dave. His handwriting was shaky, very different from his normal penmanship.  
  
_'you don't need to worry about it.'_  
Dave couldn't believe what he just read. Did he really think he would take that as an answer? That just posed even more questions. He tried hard to maintain his composure but it was fleeting.  
"Dude, what the hell?!" He saw the way John flinched and he lowered his voice again. "You're my friend and if that happens frequently those fuckers need to be put in their place." John looked at him and bit his lip lightly.  
_'it doesn't matter, it doesn't happen often. please don't do anything.'_  
"What? Really? Ugh fine, whatever. But if that happens again I want you to tell me. You don't deserve that and you don't need to deal with it either. And for the record, it matters to me, so don't say shit like that." Every cell in his body wanted to go find the group of students that did this and give them a piece of his mind but that would upset John. He wouldn't confront them. Not yet.

John hardly believed what just happened. Dave defended him, he protected him. And after that he helped calm him down. When he started asking questions John lied. It was almost like an instant reflex, he didn't even consider telling the truth. He knew Dave didn't believe a word he said, he wasn't dumb. But telling the truth was out of the question. If one secret got out then every other one might come along with it. The thought alone was too much to handle. He and Dave spent the rest of lunch together, Dave gave him the chips and he thanked him. He walked John to each class and somehow was at the door to each class when they ended. John faintly felt he was being followed by an overprotective watchdog. This wasn't how he wanted things to turn out. By the time he was home he was more hopeless than he had been in a long time.


	6. Chapter 6

Your name is John Egbert and you're starting to regret the decisions that lead you to this point.

On Tuesday John decided to stay home from school. He just couldn't bring himself to face Dave. He couldn't deal with the way things were between them. There was an overwhelming feeling that Dave would continue to ask questions and John wasn't going to put up with that. There was no reason for Dave to be so concerned, he had been able to deal with people putting him down his whole life. It's not like it would suddenly become too hot to handle. Everything was fine. He was fine. Through courage and willpower alone he got his dad's permission for the absence. It was pretty easy convincing dad he was sick. He didn't pay enough attention to his surroundings while he was drunk to tell it was a blatant lie. He ended up saying yes to get John to leave him alone. That morning he texted Dave telling him not to get him. Thankfully Dave didn't ask any questions. He spent the rest of his day watching TV downstairs. It was peaceful, a nice change of pace from his hellish daily life.

On Wednesday he got cocky. With the way things had been going he thought he could stay home another day. So that's what he did. He stayed home, running from Dave yet again. This time their texts consisted of Dave asking if he was okay. John said he had a cold from the snow, super convincing. Wednesday started peaceful just like the day before but it changed when his dad came home. He was about asleep when his door slammed open. He didn't even bother asking why his dad was mad, he knew why. In the grand scheme of things he knew this was going to happen. The little light in his heart telling him things would be different always gave him far too much hope. When his dad pulled him out of bed he didn't fight it. He didn't try to get away. Somehow this had become normal, he was beginning to really think he deserved it. Scratch that, he knew he deserved it.

It was always the scariest when his dad didn't say anything.

He pulled John to his feet where proceeded to knee him in the stomach. His midsection had an almost constant purple bruise because it was an easy target. John fell onto the ground trying not to throw up. Your stomach could only sustain so much abuse before it began to protest. He faintly felt himself being pulled up again before he found himself in the hallway. He hardly knew what was happening when his dad dragged him to the top of the stairs and let go, allowing gravity to take over. He fell harshly down the stairs, actually flipping at least twice.

By the time he stopped rolling he had bitten his tongue rather badly and blood was flowing freely from his nose. He had hit his head more than a few times and wasn't able to think straight. Or of anything. At all. Consciousness was leaving him quickly when he felt himself being lifted yet again. Apparently his dad wasn't done with him. His face was pressed into the wall, leaving an ugly smear of red on the pure white.

"John. I told you not to skip school again. Should I spell it out for you? Because apparently I wasn't clear enough last time. Even with your level of ignorance I thought you would get the picture. John, do you follow what I'm saying or should I continue?" His dad's voice was even and calm, only adding to johns dread. He nodded as best he could under his dad's grip. "Good, I'm glad we're on the same page." And that's when his dad slammed his head against the wall and he blacked out.

John woke up in what he thought was his bathroom. When he tried to pick himself off the floor he was greeted by a heavy wave of crippling nausea. He fought to keep himself from getting sick but it didn't work. He scrambled to the toilet as fast as he could and threw up. Having not eaten anything for 2 days the only thing that came up was stomach acid and something that looked quite a bit like blood. That was slightly concerning. He felt alittle better after 5 minutes of this and eventually he picked himself up and washed out his mouth. He didn't even bother looking in the mirror, he knew he wouldn't like what he saw.

Exiting the bathroom John saw a note taped to his door. His head was fuzzy and buzzing so it took a few tries before he was eventually able to read it. _'John, stay home today. There is a large bruise forming on your jaw and I don't want anyone to ask questions.'_ The note looked like it was written quickly, half the words slightly illegible. Dad must have written it while he was still intoxicated. He couldn't help laughing, the note basically contradicted the encounter they just had. It didn't matter though, he was just thankful he didn't have to fight through this school day. He was really not feeling up to the challenge, hardly being able to move with the way things were.

John entered his room and lowered himself onto his bed softly. He fished his phone from his covers and texted Dave to once again not get him for school. He didn't bother looking at the time, it wasn't like he would be able to wake in the morning to tell Dave anyways. The thought of Dave coming to his house and seeing him like this was horrifying. Especially after he saw how he reacted to some simple bullies. He didn't want to think about the hell that would follow. He heard his phone buzz a few times but sleep had already claimed him.

'john'  
'what the hell'  
'are you actually sick or just ditching'  
'youre my only resolve for going to that school if you give up where does that put me'  
'if you don't answer me pretty goddamn soon ill march right over to the egderp household and give you some strider tlc'  
'im 100% serious about this shit i kid you not i will show up at your house"  
'no but really are you ok'  
'john dude please answer me.'

When Dave got a text at 2am he was surprised. To see the text was from John was even more surprising. John had been away from school since Dave found out his little harassment problem. He could understand skipping one day but three was just alittle much. He decided if John hadn't replied by the end of the school day he would go to his house.

John woke up from his doorbell being rung. He pushed off his bed and looked out his window hoping it was just the postman or something. Instead, he saw Dave's car. This is really bad. Like really, really bad. John put on his sweatshirt and washed his face as quickly as he could. When he looked in the mirror he immediately saw the bruise on his jaw. This was just wonderful. He was thinking about ignoring Dave to see if he would give up and go away but then the doorbell rang again. He seems determined. John carefully walked downstairs and to the door. He exhaled, trying to calm himself. It wasn't really working. Eventually he decided to open the door and was greeted by an angry Dave Strider. Just as quickly as he saw the anger he saw it vanish.

"John, dude... are you okay?" Dave let himself in and took off his shoes. John still hadn't responded, he was just staring at Dave blankly. "John?" The two of them stood next to the door for a few minutes, dave was waiting for john to do anything, say anything, but nothing happened. Dave soon handed John his phone, "Please say something dude." John took the phone and typed.

_'why are you here?'_  
"I wanted to see if you were alright."  
 _'i'm fine. you should leave. i don't want my dad thinking i had someone over while i'm sick.'_  
"I don't think you're fine and I don't really want to leave." Johns eyebrows tilted up for a moment. He doesn't know what to say. "John if i ask you something can you promise you'll tell me the truth?" John looked at the floor and nodded slightly. He knew this wasn't going to be good and he couldn't promise he would be 100% honest. "Where did the bruise on your face come from?"  
'i fell down the stairs.' John was proud of himself, he didn't lie. He defiantly DID fall down the stairs and that's most likely where the bruise came from. So, he didn't lie, he just stretched the truth.

"O...kay. I guess I can believe that. So are we going to stand here or...?" He watched as John started walking to the stairs. Dave could tell he was in pain and for some reason he felt like it wasn't just from falling down the stairs. When John turned on the light for his room Dave couldn't help but stare at how dirty it was. The last time he was here the room was spotless but now piles of clothes and paper littered the floor. It seemed like there were always a part of John that he presented and then another part that he hid but was more prominent.

He sat on the bed next to John, who pulled out a notebook and pencil from one of the piles. "Are you sure you're okay?" John just stared at the blank page on his lap. "Please look at me man." When he did Dave could feel his heart break. John looked so sad, so broken. Everything about this situation was not fine, and Dave was learning that quickly. When he saw one of John's pillows had a small stain of blood on it his concern increased. "What's wrong?" After a moment of staring at each other he decided to stop asking questions, it was clear John didn't want to talk.

Changing his plan of attack, Dave scooted closer to John and grabbed his hands before the other could move away. The first thing Dave noticed was the fact john was cold, extremely, almost unnaturally cold. The next thing was how small and completely limp his hand were, it seemed as if john had little to no energy to expend. He looked from the blonde's face to his hands and back up again, struggling to process what was happening. His confused expression turned into a frown and his breath was becoming panicked quickly. Dave held his hands alittle tighter, "Hey, John, it's okay." The frown deepened as he continued to stare at nothing in particular. He flinched when Dave brought his hand to the bruise on his jaw causing him to look up cautiously. "It's okay, you're okay."

Those words seemed to break him, his breath hitched and a few rogue tears rolled down his cheek. John took his hands back and covered his face as he began to cry. He never wanted to cry in front of Dave. That was never part of the plan. He was ashamed of himself, he'd messed up again. He let his emotions get the better of him. _How could I be so careless?_ Faintly he felt Dave pulling him close before he was greeted by warmth. Dave tucked John in his lap and wrapped his arms around him tightly. He held the small boy as his body shook with silent sobs. His hand was soon running through black hair as he hummed small assurances to John. Telling him that he was safe, he was fine, everything was going to be okay. John knew this wasn't true but he clung to the words anyways. Maybe, eventually, things would get better. It had to, right?


	7. Chapter 7

Loud beeping, Dave's favorite sound. He groans loudly and hits snooze, not quite ready to face the world yet. 5 minutes later the beeping goes off again. Still asleep, he presses snooze. Then, 5 more minutes pass and the lovely beeping visits again. This time it's accompanied by an angry voice.

"DAVE! Get up and let me sleep! Fucking hell. Hitting snooze three times is enough! E-fucking-nough." It's just then Dave realizes Bro is home. It's not too hard to miss with him yelling from the other room. To avoid pissing him off further he turns off the alarm to begin getting ready. First, an obligatory morning shower followed by the brushing of hair and teeth. Once he's adequately dressed he goes to the kitchen to scavenge up food and coffee. It takes awhile to make the coffee up to his standards but once that's done he makes a few pieces of toast for John. Bro peeks over the futon with a questioning look.

"Why're ya makin' breakfast. Never made breakfast before." His voice is heavy with sleep, texan accent showing through.  
"It's for the kid I've been hanging out with."  
"Right. So yer makin' toast for the kid you pick up for school everyday?" Dave nods and Bro laughs. "I think you've got yerself a lil' crush."  
"No, don't even go there."  
"Then why're ya goin' outta yer way to make 'em toast n' shit."

"You're making this weird!" He blurts out, "I just…" Bro is watching him expectantly and Dave knows he has to elaborate or he will continue to question. "Ok. It's just the kid is bullied by some people at school and I want to make sure he doesn't pass out or something." Before Bro can comment Dave says he has to go to school and leaves with his coffee and the plate of food in hand. He just chuckles to himself, quite amused by this new development.

Dave climbs into the truck and sighs, he just left the apartment 15 minutes early to avoid further questioning from Bro. What is he supposed to do now? Pulling out his phone he sends a text to John. He better be going to school today, after their little feelings jam yesterday he hopes all the weird avoiding stuff is over. John is woken up by the buzzing of his phone. Trying to sit up he recalls falling asleep without turning his alarm on. Sitting up isn't working so he turns his attention to the message that woke him. Dave wants to pick him up? What time is it? Looking at the clock it reads 6:45 AM. Shit.

'can i pick you up early'  
 _'i just woke up, you can go on without me.'  
_ 'naw can i come over' _  
_ _'i'm going to shower but the front door will be unlocked.'_  
That's all the confirmation Dave needs, putting the plate on the passenger seat he starts the car and drives in the direction of John's house.

John attempts to get up again, this time with more success. He grabs a blue striped shirt, sweatshirt and grey pants, leaving them in the bathroom. Stumbling down the stairs he unlocks the door before going back to the bathroom to start getting ready. Halfway through the shower he hears the front door open and close. Dave calls to him, telling him he's here and something else he can't quite make out. He gets done showering and finishes getting ready quickly. He's going to have hell to pay for being late. Honestly he's not sure he can make it through another fight. He grabs his backpack and jacket from the bedroom and heads downstairs, trying his best not to fall on the way down. When he reaches the ground floor he finds Dave in the kitchen. This is not good. He seems to have been going through the cupboards. He watches hesitantly until Dave realizes he's behind him.

"I was looking for a cup, kinda thirsty. Could you hook me up?" Dave asks innocently, even though he was just checking if there was any sort of actual food in the kitchen. His search has come up empty except for a box of cake mix, coffee, various spices, flour, sugar, some butter and an empty box of crackers. John goes to the sink and pulls a cup out of the dishwasher, filling it with water and handing it over. He drinks the whole thing in one go and hands it back.

"We should probably get going. If we leave now we'll only be a few minutes late, the teacher might even take pity on us and not say anything. I brought you some toast, it's probably cold by now but it's better than nothing." They walk out the door, John locking it behind him. Once they're in the car Dave shoves the plate into his hands and stares until he begins to eat. It's only then he starts the car and drives to school.

They get to first period a few minutes late and as predicted the teacher takes pity and counts them on time. John feels a large weight lift off his shoulders with those words. Class goes by with doodling and small talk, much like any other day. John feels alittle silly for making such a big deal out of everything earlier. When the bell rings John goes to the teacher with Dave in tow. He hands the teacher a note that reads, _'I'm sorry for the absences. What have I missed over the last 3 days?'_

"John yes, are you alright now?" They ask and John nods. Dave catches them staring at the bruise with a somber expression. "Right, let me get you the worksheets. It's basically all review so I'm sure Dave can help you with anything you don't understand." He hands the papers over and looks at him sadly, "But if you need anything, feel free to ask."

In English they have presentations on certain assigned books. John enjoyed watching Dave act like he knew what was going on. It's astonishing that if you just act charismatic enough people will believe what you're saying. All of the groups weren't prepared creating a very pissed off teacher. But when the duo walk up to her desk after class the mood drastically shifts.

"Oh honey, you're roughed up again." She says sadly and Dave stares. Has he come to school like this before? "And here I thought people weren't bothering you anymore. Are you okay?" He nods confidently and she smiles sadly. "Don't worry about the assignments. I'll excuse you from them so it won't impact your grade. Look after yourself dear." John writes a quick note of thanks before they're on their way out the door. Once lunch starts John eats the first real meal he's had in 3 days. Toast is great but it doesn't offer much sustenance. Dave is going on and on about a new video game he's playing and how the reviews gave it too much hype. Then, literally out of nowhere, he changes subjects.

"Do you wanna come to my house after school?" John stares at him, obviously shocked.  
 _'i don't know if I can.'_ He really doesn't, who knows how Dad will react to such a request.  
"You should ask. We could chill and watch movies. You can even stay the night if you want." There is a gap where John thinks about his chances. He might be better off at Dave's house. It would ensure at least one day of healing. Hopefully with food.  
 _'are you positive?"_  
"Yeah it'll totally be great." Dave is smiling, beaming with hope. He really has no choice.  
 _'i'll see if I can.'_

He pulls out his phone to text his dad, it's now or never. While debating what to say he notices someone enter the library. Looking up he sees Vriska walking to them. Instantly he freezes and Dave becomes 10x more intimidating. She stops a few feet away, putting a hand on her hip.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot." She states simply.  
"Wow, you're a smart one. Are we talking about before or after I found out you guys enjoy fucking with John?" Dave asks confrontationally, eyebrows raising above his shades.  
"I suppose both." She comments somewhat jokingly. Dave's having none of that.  
"You're a class act aren't you?" He says, voice dripping with sarcasm. The smug grin on her face is now replaced with a frown, "Well sorry honey, nothing you say will make me think you're anything more than yesterdays fucking trash. Now leave." Vriska turns bright red and retreats out of the library. Mumbling things under her breath on the way out.  
"They don't know when to quit, do they?" Dave grumbles, letting out an annoyed breath.

* * *

John is sitting on Dave's bed, feeling completely out of place. It was a miracle his dad let him go out. Up until now he had never stayed at someone's house, let alone overnight. His surroundings were so unlike anything he had experienced before and he didn't know how to behave. His first question is why are there puppets everywhere? Does Dave secretly like really creepy puppets? Is this some weird ironic thing he can't understand? Faintly, he heard Dave talking to someone. He assumed it was his brother.

"You got a friend over?"  
"Yeah, so don't do any weird shit."  
"What's their name?"  
"John."  
"Alright, only a few smuppet traps then."  
"Bro." Dave says seriously, "Don't fuck with him." There is a long pause before Bro sighs.  
"You're serious aren't you. Shit, alright lil man, I'll mind my own damn business. I expect an explanation though."

John hears the freezer door open followed by the crinkling of plastic bags. Dave's conversation is a lot more muffled, he can't exactly make out what's being said. In the midst of his thinking he wonders what's taking so long. Dave was talking to Bro about the situation he found himself in. Making sure to speak quietly so John couldn't hear what he was saying.

"So what's up?" Bro says and Dave puts his finger to his lips, telling him to be quiet.  
"Remember when I was telling you about the kid who gets bullied at school?" Bro hums in confirmation and Dave continues. "Well that's him. But yesterday I figured out something else… atleast I think so."  
"What did you find?" Bro asks curiously.  
"You gotta promise not to do anything, at least for now." Bro nods and Dave huffs.  
"I don't have conclusive evidence but I think his father abuses him." Bro stiffens, standing alittle straighter once he hears those works.  
"Dave. That's a big deal. How do you figure?" He asks seriously.

"Yesterday I went to his house because he wasn't at school for 3 days. When I saw him he had a large bruise on his jaw, you'll see it when he comes out of my room. He didn't have that bruise the last time I saw him and he doesn't seem to leave the house so I don't know where he could have gotten it. There are also smaller bruises on his neck that look way too much like finger marks to be anything else. I'm not even going to mention how tiny the kid is, I honestly think he only eats at school."

"Is that why you're making almost all of the pizza rolls?" Dave makes a small gesture of acknowledgement. "Alright, I won't do anything weird. But if shit gets too hot to handle let me know." He smiles, happy with the answer, a few seconds later he remembers something.

"Oh, one more thing. He's mute so he won't be able to respond to you. He talks through type or paper." Bro stares at him momentarily before nodding, going out the front door. He thinks he's going to the roof for a smoke and to reflect. He was just told some heavy shit. By the time the conversation is done so are the pizza rolls. He pulls them out of the oven and dumps them onto a large plate. Next, he grabs two sodas from the fridge and makes his way back to his room. Once the door is open John is staring at him, sitting in the exact same place he had been in when he left.

"I got food and soda if you wanna watch a movie in the living room." John looks down awkwardly but he continues, "C'mon man Bro won't mind, he won't even say anything." Finally, after a bit more prodding, John nods and stands up following him into the living room. Once they're situated he starts eating, hoping John will follow suit.

"What do you want to watch?" John shrugs and Dave frowns. Thinking back to the first time they hung out he recalls John liking Ghostbusters. That might work. "Wanna watch Ghostbusters?"

John smiles and nods enthusiastically. He can't help but smile back, his reaction to movies is adorable. It's also nice to see him happy for a change. The movie turns out not to be on Netflix but thankfully Bro has a copy mixed in with a bunch of random CDs. With the movie playing John decides to eat and he mentally pats himself on the back. About 30 minutes into the movie the front door opens and John literally jumps, falling right off of the couch in the process. Instantly Dave is beside him, helping him off the ground and back onto the couch.

"Dude it's cool, that's my brother." John takes in a nervous breath and nods, waving to Bro with jerky motions. Bro clears his throat, a little alarmed to be honest. That was a very violent reaction to something as small as the door opening. The bruise on his face is darker than he was expecting and the kid is tiny. So fucking small anybody could carry him. Dave is looking at him with an expression he can't quite place. He thinks it's telling him not to fuck up.

"Hey kid, I'm Bro. Didn't mean to startle ya." He says and disappears into another room, leaving them to go back to watching the movie. John is a lot more nervous now, he's tense and not touching the almost empty plate of pizza rolls. Dave sighed inwardly and looks at the clock. It's nearing 11:30 PM. Maybe they should go to bed after this movie.

It's almost 1 AM when the movie ends and John is nearly falling asleep next to him. Once the dishes are put away they go to his room. It's only then John realizes he has nothing to sleep in. Also, he's going to have to sleep with Dave. In the same bed. He silently prays a nightmare doesn't come to taunt him tonight. Somehow sensing John's lack of clothing issue Dave fishes out a long sleeved shirt and pajama pants for him. He knows John wouldn't sleep in a short sleeved shirt and there was no benefit in making him uncomfortable.

"The bathroom is the door right next to my room, you can change there." John leaves and goes to the other room. The light in the bathroom floods the area with an orange tint, puppets here and there creating an even more ominous feeling. He quickly changes, deciding he doesn't want to be in this room for longer than he has to be. Before he goes he takes a look at his stomach, the bruise is still nearly black, only turning yellow and purple in some spots.

When he exits the bathroom he's greeted by the sight of Bro in the kitchen. On instinct he freezes, not sure what to do. The two look at each other until Bro turns around, returning to whatever he was doing previously. He quickly goes back into Dave's room. Dave has stripped to his boxers and an old band tee. He's sitting on the bed scrolling through his phone when he tells John to sit, patting the space next to him. He crawls on the mattress, sitting between Dave and the wall.

"My clothes are even bigger on you than I was expecting." He comments, not mentioning the dark marks on his neck that are now completely visible. It's worse than he thought. "Well, let's go to bed I guess." Dave lays down and John apprehensively lays down next to him. Once the lights are off John tries to calm down while Dave pays attention to every movement and breath.

It's obvious John is nervous and Dave wonders if this is the first time he's stayed at someone else's house. He tries not to dwell on it, it makes him alittle sad honestly. John is such a nice kid, he wishes people didn't fuck with him. He didn't do anything to deserve such harsh treatment. After awhile his breathing evens out and he falls into a light sleep, Dave following close behind.

* * *

It's dark, you're surrounded by a cracking universe and you can't help the feeling that this is your fault. You don't know what you were doing before all this happened but it seems much less important in comparison. As you wander broken planets and shattered temples litter the dead space around you. Eventually, you come across a planet that is still somewhat intact. Looking closer you see movement, maybe you can meet up with someone there.

You're almost to the surface when you spot a slab of stone that looks like a bed, somehow you know it's called a quest bed. You float to it's location and what you see makes you want to throw up. There, lying seemingly dead is the dog eared girl you spent so much time with on the ship, and on top of her with two large holes in his torso is Dave. You want to cry, you want to flip your shit but all you can do is stare at them. Somehow, this seems normal. Like you've seen them dead like this before. You fly away from the bodies in search of something, you're just not quite sure what.

* * *

John wakes up with a silent gasp, shaking while small tears threaten to fall from his eyes. He keeps them closed, trying to focus on his breathing like the voices always tell him to. Next to him Dave shifts, making him twitch. He silently hopes he isn't awake but when a soft voice is heard he knows luck is not on his side.

"John are you awake?" Dave whispers and John stays in the same position. He knows there is no way Dave hasn't noticed him shaking but some part of him thinks if he stays unresponsive for long enough the other will go back to sleep. Of course, that doesn't happen. He sits up and tried to roll John over so he can get a better look.

When John finally opens his eyes the tears fall down his cheeks before he quickly tries to wipe them away. He puts little thought into the fact that Dave's eyes are _bright fucking red,_ basically glowing in the darkness, and instead tries to maintain composure. Dave lays down again and pulls him into a light embrace, absentmindedly running a hand across his much too prominent ribs. He tries to ignore the bruise on John's wrist, where the long sleeved shirt has lifted, but fails. Using the softest of touches he tries to unlatch John's hand from his shirt to take into his own. Eventually John gives up and lets it be commandeered. He lightly brushes his thumb across the bruised skin, pushing up the sleeve to exposes more discoloration. Once again, John twitches but doesn't pull away.

"You should let me help you." Dave murmurs, pulling John's sleeve down again. John just shakes his head, refusing to look up. He doesn't know why he let Dave see his arm, it was such a bad idea. He tells himself to stop letting Dave in, stop letting him see what his life is really like. But it just keeps happening, with or without his permission.

"Please let me help, even if it's just coming to my house often. I don't want you to feel like you need to hide from me anymore and I really don't like seeing you hurt. I won't tell anybody anything so please, just let me know what's wrong." Dave was pleading, hoping that maybe John would open up to him. He knew it would take a long time to actually gain his trust but you have to start somewhere.

John doesn't respond, he only scoots a few inches closer. Dave finishes the motion by pulling him into another hug, holding tighter this time. When he feels lanky arms wrap around his waist and John's head rest on his shoulder his stomach does a flip, face turning red. At that moment Dave realizes he might have developed a tiny crush.


	8. Chapter 8

Dave was about to go to bed, it was starting to get late and the shitty movie he was watching was getting boring. He had tried to watch a Nic Cage flic to see what John saw in them. So far he couldn't find any redeeming qualities. Just then Dave's phone buzzed on the desk next to him. Pausing the movie he looks at the phone. It's John, but it's also 1 in the morning. What the hell?

'can you pick me up?' His stomach drops when he reads those words, all sorts of fucked up scenarios going through his head. He texts back as fast as he can, already grabbing his jacket and the nearby keys off the side table.

'on my way' He's about to open the door and leave when Bro stops him by flash-stepping between him and the exit.

"Where are you going lil' man?" He asks curiously, but with a trace of suspicion. Currently he's a wall between the apartment and hallway and honestly, Dave doesn't have time for this. He tries to get through but the older man isn't budging. With every passing moment he gets more and more annoyed.

"Bro, I need to go. John asked me to pick him up and I don't really have any time to explain." He walks out the door, pushing Bro out of the way to get through. This leaves a confused and somewhat offended guardian standing where he was shoved to. He decides they're going to have a few words about respecting authority when he returns.

It's cold when he gets outside, sky grey with small snowflakes falling from low clouds. He jumps into the car and drives to John's house as fast as he can without causing a major accident. There is an overwhelming feeling that whatever made John contact him wasn't good. At all. Honestly John seemed like the type who would chop off his leg before asking for help. After about 5 minutes of anxious driving Dave pulls up in front of the house. He spots something on the porch and the moment he realizes what it is he's scrambling out the car.

John is sitting on the porch, knees drawn to his chest, bloody and nearly unconscious. He's wearing a grey shirt but parts of it is stained dark red. He has no jacket or shoes despite it being in the negatives outside. Dave cuts through the lawn, ignoring the snow that soaks through his boots, and picks him up as carefully as he can manage. In his arms John curls against him, resting his head on his chest, leaving a small stain of blood. He's pays no mind to it and carries him to the car, placing him in the passenger seat before removing his jacket and draping it over the other boy.

He doesn't bother with the seatbelt and runs to the other side. Climbing in and starting the car for the journey back to the apartment. Every now and again he would glance in John's direction to see him staring into the distance. Blood was coming from of his nose and a gash on his forehead but he didn't make any effort to stop it. He's unresponsive and Dave doesn't know what to do.

Making it back to the apartment in record time he picked up John out of the passenger seat and cradled him close. While walking up the stairs he tries to keep his movements slow and soft to ensure he wouldn't hurt the other further. This would be a lot easier if the building had an elevator. Once he makes it to the door he struggles to open it. Eventually it opens on it's own to show Bro waiting for him, obviously less than pleased.

"Dave" he says seriously, with a bit of an edge causing John to flinch. Dave holds him closer and shushes softly, glaring at Bro while doing so. Bro is about to continue his speech but stops when he sees drying blood on grey fabric. Staring for few seconds he frowns and points to the bathroom. Dave carries John to the said room, propping him up against a wall.

"John, can you hear me?" Dave watches John try to get his head together before nodding, closing his eyes. Instantly he takes one of his hands, holding it gently. "Open your eyes dude." His other hand comes up to pat his face, "Come on John stay awake. Just for a bit then we can sleep." His eyes open and Dave let's out a relieved sigh.

Bro comes in and hands Dave a warm damp washcloth along with a dry one and a glass of water. Dave starts by wiping the dried blood off his now black and blue hands, noting their shaking. Once that's done he removes his dirty glasses before softly wiping his face. "Keep your eyes open," Dave reminds softly when he starts to slip away. Soon his face is clean with the bleeding mostly stopped.

He turns around to grab the first aid kit but before he can stand Bro hands it to him. He has been watching intently from the doorway, somehow staying out of John's line of sight. Dave pulls bandages and neosporin out of the kit and pushes John's hair out of his face. Once again reminding him to stay awake he bandages the cut with utmost care before lightly caressing his face, John leaning into the touch slightly. Next, he takes an ace bandage and wraps John's dominant hand and wrist. He only has one bandage so this will have to do for now.

"Hey dude, look at me." It takes a few seconds for John to focus but it happens eventually. "Drink some of this, alright?" Dave tries to hand the cup of water over but John isn't moving. Instead Dave brings the cup to him, prompting him to drink. After a few sips he puts the cup down next the the bloody washcloths.

Standing, Dave collects John into his arms again and brings him into his dark room. Once they're on the bed Bro closes the door and silence fills the space. John's quiet breaths are ragged, adding to the long list of concerns. Dave pulls the blanket over them and everything calms down a bit.

He's carding his fingers through John's hair when he starts crying. Afraid it's his fault he removes his hand. John shakes his head, trying to convey that he liked what was happening before. Dave slowly moves his hand back and starts petting black hair softly. John relaxes again, although he's still crying. Crying after being beaten to a bloody pulp is normal though, so he's not too worried about that part.

John doesn't know how he got here, all he knows is that he's with Dave and that means he's safe. Closing his eyes a few scenes play out in his head, trying to ignore the thoughts he moves to get closer to Dave. He's not entirely sure when he suddenly decided he liked being so close to the blonde but he can't bring himself to question it. Not now. Because even as he nuzzles into the chest of the other he can't stop the violent flashbacks from playing out how he got every single bruise in graphic detail.

_"Where the hell were you last night?" Dad yells, slapping John before pushing him onto the kitchen floor. All he wanted was a glass of water, why did it have to turn into this? He tries to scramble away, to abscond into his room but he's not quick enough. The second he moves to escape his father grabs him by the hair and pulls him to his feet. It seems like Dad forgot about giving permission to stay at Dave's. There really is no way he can work himself out of this situation._

_"I find it hard to believe somebody would try and get to know you, let alone invite you to their home. What were you doing?" Dad asks, face literally inches away from John's. He swallows nervously and fixes his gaze onto the floor. If he's learned anything over the years it's to not react to threats and questions. That only makes dad angrier, remaining as stoic as possible is the best bet._

_Suddenly, John is on the floor again. His head hits the tile with a loud crack and blood starts trailing down his forehead. While he tries to recover dad walks over and puts his heel on John's hand and wrist. John didn't know what to expect, dad had never hurt his hands before. That fact is quickly changed when he starts stomping, over and over, effectively crushing the appendage. He does the same to the other hand and by the time he's done John is a sobbing, gasping mess on the tile. Unfortunately, he knows this encounter is nowhere near over._

_Grabbing one of his nearly broken wrists dad literally drags him up the stairs. Knowing what's to come John tries to get away again. This feeble attempt is even more pitiful than the last. Once he's on top of the stairs dad does another thing he's never done before. He punches John, right on the face with much more force than necessary. When blood start to drip off his chin and onto the carpet he's pushed down the stairs for the second time this week. The trip from the top to bottom is both painful and debilitating. Once he's stopped rolling he feels himself being dragged again. The front door opens and he's pushed outside._

_"Since you like being out so much you won't mind staying out here for tonight, right?" He closes the door, making sure to lock it, leaving John in the cold without any sort of protection from the elements. Sitting up against the wall he curls in on himself, trying to maintain some warmth. When he shifts something falls out of his pocket, his phone. He'd never been happier to see the device. He texts Dave in hopes that he could save him from freezing to death. When Dave responds some faith is restored, and the last thread of consciousness he was holding onto breaks._

When he comes back to reality Dave is holding him tightly. He hears something odd and it takes a few moments for him to realize it's him. He's sobbing, making a weird mixture of ungodly gasps and silent cries. He knows it's an ugly sound, and he wishes Dave didn't have to be the one to hear it. Honestly this is the loudest he's been in a very, very long time.

"John it's okay, you're safe now." Dave says softly and John wonders how long he's been out of his own head. All he wants to do is sleep but for some reason he can't stop crying. It's like the floodgates have opened and out comes years worth of emotional baggage. "You're okay." He whispers confidently now that John is reacting to his attempts at comfort.

Although he's calming down John is still nearly hyperventilating, obviously not getting enough air. Dave rubs small circles in his back as he starts talking, "You need to breathe, in and out." John tries to, he really does, but halfway through the second inhale his breath catches and he dissolves into panic again. His fingers grip dave's shirt as tightly as they can in their damaged state.

"It's okay, look at me." John looks up wearily and when red eyes meet blue he's transfixed. The color should probably unnerve him but he finds its calming, almost hypnotic. They stare at each other until Dave is sure John is aware of him. "There you go, just pay attention to me. You're safe now. Breathe with me, alright?" He doesn't even think about the cliches, all he's worried about is John.

"Breath in," John gasps, taking a choppy breath in. After a few seconds he runs a hand down his back gently, "and out." John attempts to exhale only to fail and take in a sharp breath instead. His fingers grip alittle more, trying desperately to express his distress. Dave decides to continue his instructions, giving him something constant to ground himself to.

"In," Dave prompts and John takes in a more successful breath, "and out." He's able to fully exhale, even if it's a struggle. "Good, now again, breath in." Dave rubs small circles in his back as he presses closer, taking in another shaky breath. He reverses the direction of the circle when he whispers, "breathe out." Dave feels him exhale against his neck, shuddering slightly. They continue this for awhile, until John is breathing normally without constant guidance.

Dave holds him while he breathes, making sure he doesn't lose composure again. Minutes pass with them clinging to each other, sounds of soft wind from outside filling the room. The weather has worsened, turning to a blizzard coating the ground with a thick layer of snow. Dave can't help but ponder what John would have done if they hadn't become friends. Would he have stayed on the porch all night? Would he have frozen to death? Sadly he fears that might be the case.

John can't help the feeling that this is the warmest he'll ever be. While he lays in Dave's bed, the closest he's ever been to somebody, he marvels in the fact that he's safe. Even as his head pounds, his wrists and hands ache, his whole body hurts, he smiles against Dave's neck. Because he can finally tell himself that Dave cares. He cared enough to drive to his house at 1 AM, he cared enough to clean him up and help him through one of the worst nights he's had in his life. Dave wasn't going to leave him and that was enough. It was more than enough.


	9. Chapter 9

It's well past noon when Dave drifts out of sleep. John is still cuddled into him, showing no signs of waking up anytime soon. While he shrugs off the remnants of drowsiness he peeks at the other boys face. It's about as bad as he was expecting. Half of his cheek is purple and yellow and the cut bled through the bandage during the night. Despite the injuries he looks rather peaceful and Dave can't stop himself from smoothing black hair out of his face.

John's eyes crack open and he blinks a few times before looking up. He smiles wearily before yawning and resting his head on Dave's arm. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Dave says and John just shakes his head. The movement makes his brain pound and suddenly he's overcome by a debilitating migraine. He shifts to cover his eyes, to block the light, but when he tries to use his hands sharp spikes of pain radiate through them. Small tears form at the corners of his eyes due to frustration and the sheer pain of being awake.

"Does it hurt?" Dave whispers softly, even though he knows the answer. Of course it hurts. The other boy nods and tries to keep composure. "I'll get you some pain pills. Do you want water or apple juice?" He holds up two shaky fingers, "apple juice?" Dave asks and he nods in confirmation. "Alright, I'll be right back." He stands and walks over to the window, closing the blinds. Going into the living room he spots a note on the kitchen table accompanied by a bottle of Bro's prescription pain pills and another ace bandage.

'Bro. Make the kid take one of the pills, it'll knock him out but that's for the best. He's going to be in a whole lot of fucking pain. I got a bandage for his other hand so make sure to wrap that one too. I have to leave for a few days but I'll be back soon.  
Ps: try to keep him with you for as long as possible. I don't care what you have to do, just don't let him go home.'

It seems Bro is just as disturbed by this situation as him. Getting the first aid kit from the bathroom he puts the pills and bandage in it before pouring two glasses of apple juice. Collecting all of the items he goes back into his room, trying to be as quiet as possible. He places everything on the side table and opens the first aid kid. First, he fishes out a pill for John.

"Hey, can you get up for a sec?" He watches as John struggles to sit up. Once he's stable Dave hands him the pill and cup. He takes the tablet and drinks all of the juice rather quickly. On a whim Dave hands him his own cup and he drinks that glass just as fast. He's about to lay down again but Dave can't have that.

"Hold up. I gotta wrap your other wrist and change the bandage on your forehead. Just chill for a sec." He works on wrapping the hand first, trying his best to be gentle with his ministrations. Despite his efforts John still cringes in pain every time his fingers so much as move. Dave was fairly certain some of the bones were broken.

Changing the bandage on his face proved to be much easier and soon He was laying down once again. Dave was sitting next to him, scrolling through his phone while he hid his face in the space between the mattress and his leg. This proved to be the darkest place, providing much needed relief from the bright sun that reflected off the snow and into the room. Eventually one of Dave's hands wander to John's hair and he starts running his fingers through it while watching random shows on his phone. He was thankful Netflix had subtitles so he could figure out what was going on while the sound was low on his headphones.

After a few hours Dave can no longer ignore his hunger or bladder. He moves the hand from John's hair to his back, rubbing softly but still hard enough to raise him from sleep. When he stretches and shakes his head Dave assumes he's awake.

"I gotta piss man, I'm also hella hungry. Do you want anything?" John nods, prompting Dave to stand up and grabs his shades before putting on a pair of sweatpants. "I'm also gonna go to the roof for a smoke, I'll be back with food soon." John responds by pulling the blankets over his head. Chuckling lightly he closes the door and goes to the other room. In the bathroom he spots John's phone. It must have fallen out of his pocket last night. On closer examination he noticed John's dad was calling him. What odd timing. He decides to answer, because he can. He can't pass up this prime opportunity for some top notch sleuthing.

"Hello?" He says somewhat monotone.  
"Who is this? Why do you have my sons phone?" There's a slight accent that Dave can't quite place but other than that he seems pretty normal.  
"I'm Dave, a friend of John. We met at school." He informs the man, it's not very surprising he doesn't know about their friendship.  
"Right, is John with you now?" He asks, Dave can hear an undertone of uncertainly in his voice.  
"Well yeah." He responds dumbly.  
"Can I speak with him?" Dad replies with new found resolve.  
"He's asleep and I don't really want to wake him. He's beat up and needs to rest." There is no way he's going to wake John up, not with him talking to his dad like this.  
"He's injured? How did that happen?" Dave's face falls into a frown, apparently he was going to act innocent.  
"When I picked him up last night he said he fell down a snow bank and onto concrete during a midnight walk but who knows." He lies, two can play at this game. It's obvious what really happened but bringing that to light doesn't seem like a good idea.  
"Is he alright?" He implores with obvious concern. Dave notices there have been 3 major mood shifts in this conversation so far.  
"I mean, I guess that depends on your definition of alright. He's alive and well but his hands are basically useless and half his face is purple." He responds with an edge, hoping his dad might catch onto his knowing.  
"Tell him to text me when he wakes up." Dad mumbles before hanging up abruptly.

Dave pockets the phone and goes to the bathroom. Once in the kitchen he turns on the oven to let it preheat. They're having one of the few selective food groups in the Strider household, frozen pizza. With that started he puts on his jacket and goes on the familiar hunt for a lighter. He finds one under the futon and when he's sure it has fuel he's making his way to the roof.

It's colder than he was expecting, about a foot or more of snow is on the ground covering the city in a thick blanket of white. The sky was still and cloudy adding to the feeling they hadn't seen the last of the blizzard. Staying in the small spot not icy he pulls a cigarette out of the pack and lights it. As the nicotine fills his lungs he runs a hand over his face. While he was prepared for this sort of situation when he offered a place for John to stay that didn't make it any easier to think about.

The cigarette becomes shorter and shorter, him becoming lost in thought as it dwindles away. The fact John was left basically unconscious on the porch while it was obviously below freezing and snowing was highly alarming. How little did his dad think and or care about him? So far the evidence pointed to not enough. The flame neared the filter and He threw the butt to the ground, stomping out the dying ember. Ready to escape the cold he makes the short walk back to the apartment.

The oven is perfectly heated when he arrives and it takes little time for him to remove the frozen pizza from the packaging and move it into the oven. It takes about 10 minutes for the pizza to cook, but during those 10 minutes he turns on the TV and pours more apple juice for their meal. With the pizza cut and cooling he starts the process of waking up John. There's a feeling he's not going to be very happy about the prospect of getting up but Dave wants him to eat. Not eating would be counterproductive to this whole 'taking care of John' thing he has going on.

"Joooooohn~" He calls in a soft singsong voice when he opens the bedroom door and sits on the bed. John rolls over and pulls the blanket over his head further in an obvious attempt to make him shut up. "Dude, c'mon, I made pizza. You have to wake up eventually and it's like 4 in the afternoon. If you're still tired after we eat you can go back to sleep. I might even let you cuddle my leg again."

After a few more minutes of Dave's pestering he sits up, glaring at the other. Dave just smiles and watches him wake up slowly. Once he's handed him his glasses they walk to the living room. With John on the couch, holding a glass of apple juice and watching a low budget horror movie he brings the pizza over.

It takes a few tries for John to be able to hold the pizza without it falling out of hands but he gets it eventually. It takes even more attempts for him to be able to eat without gagging. At first Dave thought it was undercooked but when he ate a piece it was fine. John continued to eat slowly, taking time with chewing, taking small breaks and drinking between bites.

"Are you okay?" He asks when John is taking a rather long break from eating. Handing his phone over he waits for an answer.

'I'm sorry. The food is great I'm just really nauseated.'

"Is that why you're about to throw up?" He honestly doesn't understand. "Why are you nauseated?"

'Have you ever been really, really hungry?' John asks, refusing to meet the others eyes. Dave stares for a minute, not sure he knows what that means. Sure, he's been really hungry but he has a feeling John is talking about something more, something much worse.

"What do you mean?" Dave asks gently and John's shoulders slouch, face twisting with uncertainty.

'When you get really hungry it kinda starts to… fade after awhile. And when you finally eat you feel like you're going to throw up.' He shrugs awkwardly before giving the phone back, indicating he wasn't going to give any more information and continued his struggle to eat. After two pieces it becomes even more difficult to keep down so he stops. Dave puts the leftovers and plates away but once he goes back to the futon John is nearly falling asleep.

"You wanna go back to my bed?" John shakes his head. "You wanna stay here?" He nods so Dave sits down again. Instantly John leans against him, nesting in Dave's side. He wraps an arm around thin shoulders, pulling the other closer. They stay like this, John eventually falling asleep while Dave watches crime shows on TV. After some time John's head falls to dave's lap, when his body is too limp and tired to hold itself up.

Dave grabs a comforter from under the futon, where Bro shoves his pillows and blankets when he's not home. Once that's draped over them he goes back to the TV, absentmindedly flipping through channels and watching 10 minutes of random shows here and there. He's watching trashy celebrity news when he sees a familiar face. Bro has some new rumors being spread about him being a drug addict in an unfaithful relationship.

He can't help but scoff, Bro is definitely not a drug addict. An alcoholic yes, maybe a bit of a pothead, but nothing more than that. Nothing that would prompt such pointed remarks. The stories of him cheating in his so called "relationship" are even funnier, he has no significant other. Throughout his life Bro has never had a boyfriend, girlfriend, any friends in general. Sometimes when he's really drunk he rambles on about his "long lost love", but other than that he shows no interest in people. Romantic or otherwise.

Just as he changes the channel the front door opens. He looks over his shoulder, hoping John doesn't wake up from the noise. Bro is struggling to get his snow covered boots off without falling over. Once he succeeds he brushes the snow off his jacket and hat before grabbing a beer out of the fridge. He goes to sit on the couch and It's just then he realizes both Dave and John are sitting right where he wants to be.

"Kid can you and your boyfriend make some room?" He asks with slight irritation. Dave runs his fingers through John's hair and pats his face, waking him up slightly.

"Scoot down dude," John lets out a small sigh but doesn't question it and wiggles to the other side of the couch. Dave follows him, thankful he didn't fully wake up, and Bro sits next to them. Once he's sure John is sound asleep and Bro has some beer in him he strikes up a conversation.

"Why are you home? I thought you had a show." He asks, voice barely above a whisper. John rolls over and presses his forehead into Dave's stomach but doesn't move after that.

"Got canceled. They were all in northern states and there's a big snow storm going through so planes can't navigate or some shit." He says, voice gravely. When he finishes off the beer in his hands he stands to get another. This happens a few more times until he's obviously drunk. They're watching a cooking competition when he turns to Dave.

"How's yer boyfriend?" He asks, voice slurring slightly.

"He's not my boyfriend," Dave replies lightly, resting a hand on the sleeping boys back. Bro notices the lack of denial or defensiveness in his reply. "I think he's okay. Hella tired but I'm guessing that's normal. His face is pretty bruised and I think some of his fingers are broken." He looks at Bro with a sad expression.

"Earlier he told me when you get really hungry it fades after awhile," he turns his attention to John, "and then he told me when you eat after being really hungry you feel like you're going to throw up." After a short pause he looks back up at his brother, who's staring right back. "I think he's being starved."

"Kid… shit." Bro responds eloquently. "I uh, don't really know what to say."

"What do you think he had to go through when I wasn't his friend?" Dave asks, it could have been a hypothetical question but he wants a response, Bro can tell.

"I wasn't prepared for some deep fucking conversation when I got home lil man." He says dryly, "He probably had it tough, what do you think? His dad was still abusive and the kids at school fucked with him. Only he had to deal with all that shit without you." They lapse into silence until the show ends. During the commercial Bro talks again, only in a much lower tone. "You really like him, don't you?" All Dave does is nod, a small smile forming on his face. He really likes John and honestly has no clue what that means or how he's going to deal with it.


	10. Chapter 10

John is sitting on the couch next to Dave and Bro. For some reason he isn't very scared of Bro, granted his mind is alittle fuzzy and Bro has said less than 10 words to him. It's been another day of laying around the apartment, napping for a few hours before Dave wakes him up to eat. Yawning, he closes his eyes and leans against Dave wanting to fall back into sleep. As he starts to grow drowsy his phone buzzes on the coffee table. Everyone stops and stares at the device. Dave looks at John who has a pretty nervous expression.

"Are you going to answer that?" Dave asks awkwardly when John continues to stare at the phone. Eventually he grabs it and looks at the message, as expected it's from dad.

'Text me back when you receive this.'  
'sorry, i was asleep.'  
'It's fine. Do you feel better?'

John's eyes widen and he can't help but gape at the message. Dad hasn't asked about his wellbeing in years. There has to be some sort of catch.

'yeah i'm okay now.'  
'Good I'm glad.'  
'John, listen. I'm sorry about the other day. That was highly inappropriate and I apologize. I didn't recall giving you permission to stay at your friend's house but looking back at the texts I definitely did.'  
'I've come to realize I've been a very lousy father. I do things to you that shouldn't be done to anyone.'  
'I want you to know that I really do love you. No matter what I am very proud of you and how you've overcome the adversities thrown at you.'  
'I'm going to change. I promise I'll stop drinking and make things better.'  
'Please come home.'  
'you don't need to apologize.'  
'i'll be home soon.'

John stares at the floor for a second, trying to process what just happened. Did dad finally acknowledge the fact that he was being neglectful? A small smile graced his face and when he looks at dave it grows in size. Dave hesitantly smirks back, unsure of that he was smiling about. John turned his attention to his phone before typing a message and showing it to him.

'i need to go home.'

"is he mad at you?" Dave asks, the smile once on his face long gone. He's going to fight this.

'he's not!'

"Honestly I find that hard to believe." For some reason he doesn't feel like John is lying either.

'yeah me too. but that's what he says!'  
'i should really go home though.'

"God damnit. Fine. You don't have any shoes though." Honestly he's trying anything to keep him here.

'can i borrow some of yours?'

"Yeah… one sec." Dave grumbles and stands up, obviously upset. He disappears into his room and reappears a few minutes later with a pair of vans and a jacket. Handing them over he sits next to john and huffs, "you'll text me if shit goes down, right?"

John nods, looking up when he finishes putting on the shoes. Dave helps him off the couch and soon they're making their way downstairs. He shivers once they're outside, unaware it had snowed so much during his time in the apartment. The parking lot is slippery and Dave takes John's hand in order to keep his steady. Once they're in the car it takes little time for them to arrive outside his house. Dave sighs heavily before looking at John sadly.

"Bye dude, I'll see you later. Text me"

John waves before climbing out the car. Walking to the door he creeps into the house, closing it behind him quietly. Even though dad said he was sorry, that he'd try to be better, John was still afraid. He honestly can't see dad just forgiving him for his little vacation. He's almost to the stairs when he sees dad walk out of the kitchen. He says his name causing John to stop dead in his tracks. Looking at the floor he waits for something to happen.

Dad walks towards him, noticing how his own son flinches with every step closer. Once he's in front of John he puts a hand on his shoulder, making him jump. He inspects the younger egberts bruised face, then his half broken hands. Letting out a tense breath he pulls John into a light hug.

"I'm so, so sorry son." John just nods, still refusing to make eye contact. "I'm sorry I made you scared of me. I didn't want things to turn out like this." John shrugs, shaking in his father's arms. If we're going to be honest he's terrified. This situation has never happened before and he doesn't know what to think. How to react.

"I won't hurt you again, I promise. I'm going to fix things, be a better father. We can be a happy little family. Does that sound good?" John nods again, trying to will away the tears in his eyes. That sounds good, really fucking good. Hesitantly he hugs back, hoping he won't be yelled at for the display of affection. When nothing happens he holds alittle tighter and dad just hugs back.

"I love you John." Dad says quietly and that's enough to break him. The tears he was trying to will away trail down his face as he clings to his father. This is all he wanted, for dad to love him. And while he knows this won't last forever, he's going to make sure he cherishes every happy, domestic moment.

After awhile, he lets go. It could have been a few minutes to half an hour, he didn't really know. Dad disappears into the kitchen and John goes to his room quickly. Even though it seemed dad didn't hate him anymore he still wanted to keep his distance. If he was locked away he wouldn't be a bother. That had become obvious years ago.

As he sits on the bed he realizes he's been wearing the same bloody clothes for almost 3 days. Cringing, he grabs some clean ones and goes to the bathroom. The first thing he notices is that it's cleaner than he left it. The blood in the sink is gone and the miscellaneous first aid supplies were put away. Unwrapping his hands was harder than anticipated and once the bandages were gone the sharp pains came back. Shedding his clothes he starts a much needed shower.

New shampoo, conditioner and soap was waiting for him when he opened the curtain and that almost distracts him from how much his hands were stinging. He stays under the water for much longer than necessary, indulging in the warmth and soft sweet scents of the new products. After some time he gets out and dressed into clean clothes.

Being clean made him feel a lot better but he was now faced with a predicament. Who was going to wrap his hands? He sure as hell can't do it himself and asking dad for help wasn't an option. He shuffled into his room and sat on the bed again. His phone chimed and he looked at the screen, as expected it's a text from Dave.

'are you good''  
'i'm good!'  
'are you actually tho'  
'i really am! i showered and i feel alot better now that i have clean clothes.'  
'do you think i can wrap my hands myself?'  
'not really'  
'well what should i do?'  
'im going out to get dinner if you want to come'  
'i can do your hands then'  
'i don't have any money!'  
'ill pay for you dork'  
'heading out now so get ready'  
'dave!'  
'cant talk driving'  
'ugh!'

John sighs and grabs his jacket before writing a note to give to dad. It takes a few tries until he figures out the correct thing to say. Gathering courage he pockets his phone and the bandages before heading downstairs. He creeps into the kitchen, dad looking at him as soon as the door opens. Apprehensively he walks closer and holds out the note with shaking hands.

'can i go out with my friend?' Short and sweet. He watches dad anxiously, waiting for an answer. Dad stares for a few moments before nodding causing John to smile brightly and leave the room. First he grabs the shoes and jacket he was leant earlier. When he gets to the front door Dave is parked out front waiting for him. He pulls on his own shoes and grabs the keys before leaving. Just as the door closed he sees dad exiting the kitchen. He hurries to daves car and smiles at the familiar warmth, low music and scent of coffee and cigarettes.

"You look nice," Dave comments and John blushes lightly. "Let's wrap your hands while we're parked." Dave spots John's dad staring at them through the window but chooses to ignore it and goes back to wrapping. He unrolls the bandages before taking the black and blue hands into his own. With soft touches he feels around his wrists and palms before lightly trailing down each finger.

"They look a lot better than they did earlier." Dave says softly as John tries to ignore the pain caused by moving his hand. "Do they still hurt a shitton?" John nods, letting out a shaky breath. "Sorry for squishing them, I just wanted to make sure everything's healing right.'

"Well, now comes the fun part!" Dave says sarcastically, John laughing silently in reply. "But seriously i'm going to apologize beforehand, this is going to hurt like a bitch." He pushes up John's sleeve and begins wrapping the hand as quickly as he can manage. John tries to control his breathing while Dave arranges his fingers. "You know I think I'm doing this wrong," Dave says offhandedly, and the other just gives a pained smile. He finishes one hand and begins the other. After both are wrapped me mutters one last apology.

"Do they feel better?" He asks hopefully. After a few seconds John nods enthusiastically. Dave smiled back, relieved his sub-par first aid was beneficial. "Where do you want to eat?" John pulls out his half broken phone to reply.

'you're paying so you should choose.'

"Damn your screen is hella cracked. But I'm treating you, so you choose."

'i honestly don't care where we go!'

"Ok… How about this. What haven't you had in a long time?"

'umm…' He looks out the window, staring at the black ice on the road, 'chinese?'

"Chinese it is!" Dave puts the car in drive and heads to town, sparing one last look at John's observing dad. "I haven't lived here very long so I don't really know where to go. Do you know of any good places?" John shakes his head, "well I guess we can find somewhere on the way."

They cruise along the road, John watching buildings pass by. The streetlights turn on and a siren rings through the city. The kids in the car to his left are smoking weed and one seems to be taking shots. Dave turns up the music and John relaxes into the leather seat. At a stoplight Dave looks over and slips his hand into John's, trying to stop its subtle shaking. He smirks when John tightens his hold slightly. Soon they're in the middle of town, bright businesses flashing around them. Dave spots a Chinese restaurant on a corner.

"Wanna go there?" With their hands still entwined he points to the building. John nods so he parks in the first open spot he finds. It turns out to be a few blocks away making them have to walk on the snow covered concrete. After John almost falls on his face Dave puts an arm around his shoulders. He presses into him, trying to maintain some warmth. Together they stroll to the building.

The cold is starting to get to John when they finally get to the restaurant. They walk in and are greeted by a young girl. She leads them through the restaurant until they come to a small table. Once they're seated John sets his head on his hands. Dave chuckles slightly, looking over the menu.

"John," he looks up, "What do you want to drink?" John makes grabby hands so he's given a menu that he skims over until he comes across the drink section. Holding it to dave's face he points at Pepsi.

"Alrighty. What do you wanna eat?" John sticks his tongue out and goes back to skimming over the menu. A young college student comes to take the drink order. They're awkward and obviously uncomfortable with their job. They stuttered every time Dave made eye contact. Well, shades contact. They walk away slightly defeated and John shows Dave what he wants to eat.

"Got it." He sets his own menu down and stretches, "So how was your dad? Was he really not mad?" John pulls out his phone to answer.

'he wasn't mad at all. he was being really nice.'

"Did he say anything?" John's face fills with uncertainty and Dave sighs inwardly. John's still hesitant to tell him about his dad, isn't he?

"Dude I already know he's a dick. Just tell me." John locks his phone and puts it on the table causing Dave to groan. "Jesus Christ what do I need to do to get you to trust me? Should we do trust falls? Team building exercises? Just fucking say and I'll do it."

John decides to just stare at him with a bored expression, cheek resting on his hand. Dave gives up when the waiter comes with their drinks and takes their orders. He decides changing the conversation topic was for the best.

"What do you wanna do tomorrow?" John unlocks his phone again.

'i don't know. try to avoid everyone?'

"That's a given. I'm talking about after school."

'i can see if I can go to your house.'

"You should definitely do that. That is an idea I am behind 100%" John silently scoffs and Dave pauses for a moment. "I heard someone say some new students transferred in."

Before John can answer the waiter comes with their food. Once they're eating Dave starts up the conversation again. John doesn't make any move to answer but that doesn't bother him. He's content to blab on and on as long as it's somewhat entertaining.

"Yeah I've heard they're the brother of that Eridan fuck. Apparently he transferred in with someone named Caliborn from the suspension school. I'm getting pretty confused as to why everyone in this town has such a weird name."

The conversation stalls for them to eat. Every now and again Dave would say something sarcastic and John would laugh softly. They continued like this until both of them grow full. Once eating comes to a full stop the waiter comes with the check. After Dave pays the bill and leaves a tip they move to leave. John is helped to his feet and they walk out the restaurant side by side, a few people staring at them on their way out.

Outside John shivers again, nesting into his jacket. They go through all the motions from earlier. Dave drapes an arm around John to keep him steady and warm. They get to the car and sit through light traffic to get back to John's house. The drive is silent aside from the sounds of wind and cars passing by. After a few minutes they're outside of the house for the second time today. They say their goodbyes and Dave watches John walk to the door. Before he drives away he spots dad staring at him through an upstairs window.


	11. Chapter 11

"Get in groups of three." John and Dave were in the middle of a conversation when the teacher calls for attention. She has a stack of colored papers in her hand and a sly smile on her face. As she passed out the worksheets she begins explaining the assignment.

"John." Dave whispers while the teacher is busy talking.  
'dave.'  
"She wants to torment us, doesn't she? Two is the perfect number."  
'maybe she'll let us work alone.'  
"I doubt she'll go for that. It looks like some midterm project. You should ask though, she likes you more than me."  
'why can't you? i'm technically incapable of doing so.'  
"Of all times to pull that card, you choose now?" John sticks his tongue out and Dave smirks. "Let's go up together then, I'll do the talking while you butter up the teacher with your charisma and good looks."  
'DAVE.' John writes quickly before throwing the pen down and looking away.  
"Sorry, it slipped out. You wanna talk to her though?"

They walk to the front of the class side by side, John shoving his still purple hands in his sweatshirt pocket. They near the messy desk and the teacher looks at them expectantly. Her bright red lips pursed and her eyebrows raised she inspects the pair. Dave starts to talk but before he can open his mouth she cuts him off.

"Let me guess, you'd like to work as a group of two." She asks even though the answer is obvious.

"We think we'd work better without anyone else." Dave answers, voice monotone as ever. John has been standing next to him, looking between the two.

"While I understand where you're coming from I feel like you should try to work with other people. I think now, more than ever, is an opportunity for you branch out and meet others. You two can rely on each other and form new relationships." She explains calmly.

"Are you… Serious?" Dave asks skeptically, uncertainty written on his face.

"Quite. Don't think I haven't heard some of the things you say to John. I think you two can build on your new found… friendship, to meet more people." She smiles warmly and Dave cringes a bit, "So find a third group member, I bet any of your classmates would be happy to be in a group with you." As they turn to walk away she calls them back

"John." She says in a softer tone than before, "People are more patient than you give them credit for. They'll be willing to listen to you, and if they're not I'm sure Dave can take care of that. Don't worry." He nods and they go back to the desk, Dave letting out an annoyed breath.

"Ok, so I don't like that she listens to our conversations but I can roll with it. I hope nobody else likes to listen in though. Don't give me that fucking look Egbert."  
'sorry but it's funny to see you all flustered.'  
"You're such a shit sometimes."  
'whoops :B'  
"Don't use emoticons in real life man. Oh god, is this going to be a thing now."  
':B'  
"You're not even using a keyboard. This doesn't make any sense." This time John makes the emoticon with his face, creating an even larger overbite. Dave stares for a few seconds, the slightest blush on his cheeks when he clears his throat.

"Uh, who should we work with?"  
'let's wait for people to come to us.'  
"That's a good idea, all the bitches will flock to a Strider given the opportunity."  
John rolls his eyes and gives him a disbelieving look.  
'is that how you got all the kids to like you in texas?'  
"Man, people were all over me in Texas. Once they caught on to who my brother is they got all clingy. 'Dave let me meet your brother! Can he DJ at our party? Your brother is famous right?' Bitches and fuckboys left and right, every fucking day. The same shit, over and over. It got to be way too much so we moved."  
'your brother is famous?'  
"Yeah dude. He's a 'hit DJ sensation' according to the media."  
'he didn't seem like that when i met him.'  
'Well John, when you met him I doubt you could even form a complete thought. But in all honesty he's an overgrown 13 year old in a 30 year old body with a really horrible puppet fetish and a near shameful fascination with anime."  
'those puppets aren't yours?'  
"You thought they were mine!?" Dave about yells, turning frantic.  
'i thought it was some weird ironic thing i couldn't understand.'  
"No, dude. Fuck. No. I am the master of irony and those satanic lumps of cotton are the opposite of ironic. He loves that shit, he literally gets off on it. There is nothing ironic about the piles of bulging puppet ass covering every single square inch of my apartment!" Dave is talking at a very high volume, obviously unaware of his tone.  
'dude you're being really loud, everyone is staring.'  
"Fuck." He mutters under his breath, continuing in a lower voice. "It's because you brought up the puppets man. I can't control my emotions when it comes to puppets."  
'i'm pretty sure you're the one who mentioned puppets first.'  
"But you're the one who said the things were mine. Not cool."  
'how was i supposed to know? they were in your bathroom dave.'  
"You could of asked, Jesus man. Have you thought I like creepy puppets this whole time?"  
'maybe? it's not very polite to just ask someone, 'so why the hell are all these inappropriate looking puppets scattered about your apartment?''  
"You were worried about being polite? Your priorities are so fucked dude. Asking is better than you thinking I like puppet ass. I don't like puppet ass John. There is nothing I despise more than puppet ass."  
'consider me fully briefed on the topic of puppet ass.'

Just then a girl with swirly pink and blonde hair stumbles to their table. She's wearing a shirt with a black cat on it along with a pink cardigan that matches her hair and eyes. She grabs a nearby chair and sits next to the pair. Dave looks at John skeptically who is just smiling.

"Sup Johnny boy, you need a third group member?" She says happily and John flips to a blank page to answer.  
'yeah! dave this is roxy, roxy this is dave.'  
"Sup strider."  
"Hey, how do you know john?"  
"We went to elementary and middle school together. I use to be John's main squeeze before you waltzed in."  
"Ah, sorry."  
"It's cool I'm graduating soon anyways. I'm glad you chill with John."  
'why are you still in this class? aren't you a senior?'  
"My English teacher failed me because I was 'intoxicated' too much. Bullshit if you ask me."  
'you are pretty drunk most of the time.'  
"Yeah... so have you heard about Caliborn coming back?"  
'dave told me.'  
"Are you nervous?"  
"Why would he be nervous?" Dave cuts in.  
"Hasn't John told you?"  
"What?"  
"The reason Caliborn got expelled."  
"No."

Roxy's face falls, her smile turning to a nervous frown. She looks to John with Dave following the motion. He's ignoring both of them, his gaze fixed to the window. The sky is clear and blue, the sun has finally come up and the snow seems to be slowly melting. Roxy looks back at Dave awkwardly before continuing.

"Caliborn beat up John pretty bad. Almost broke his arm, fractured a few ribs, sprained both ankles. Basically he left him bleeding and unconscious in the boys bathroom. Some dude named Tavros found him, poor kid nearly had a heart attack, rushed back to class crying that john was dead. Really it was a huge fiasco, I'm surprised you haven't heard about it by now."

Just as Dave is about to reply the teacher starts talking. He looks over at John again who is still staring out the window. He looks bored, but that's becoming a common thing, especially when talking about his problems. Roxy has turned her attention to her phone, smirking and laughing occasionally. The teacher drones on and on about the new project, explaining the rubric and guidelines. After 15 minutes the groups go back to their desks and the rest of class continues.

The bell rings and they head to lunch. After passing through the cafeteria and getting food they sit side to side to the library. John eats while Dave browses the Internet on his phone. John finishes his food and Dave takes one of his still bandaged hands into his own, rubbing small circles on his palm from under the table. John sighs lightly and rests his head, deciding to take a small break.

"Wanna come over after school?" John nods, not lifting his head from the table, "Cool." After a few minutes Dave puts down his phone and looks at John. His eyes are closed, long black eyelashes hitting the lens of his glasses. The bruise on his face has faded, leaving only slight discoloration. While Dave wants to talk about this whole 'Caliborn fiasco' he's finding it hard to bother with an unwanted conversation. John can be very strong willed at times.

Once lunch ends they go their separate ways for the remainder of the school day. Dave hardly pays attention as usual. He ignored everyone and focused all of his time to his phone. John ignored everyone as well. He doodled and took scattered notes. Most of the day passed slowly and uneventfully. Someone tripped him in the hall but he couldn't tell if it was on purpose or not. He's use to it anyways. School ends and John meets Dave next to his car. They climb in and he plugs his phone into the speakers and attempts to starts the car. It takes a few tries for the engine to actually start up but once it happens they're off. They skate out the parking lot, drifting slightly on the sharp turn.

"Want to get something to eat?" Dave asks, looking at John out of the corner of his eye. When he sees a hesitant nod he turns on the blinker, going to the nearest supermarket. Dave has a plan of making toaster waffles. They park out front and hurry into the store.

* * *

Dad Egbert is standing in John's messy room. He finds himself quite conflicted. Up until now he's neglected to buy food for his son, he found himself beating him to a bloody pulp more often than he's willing to admit. While these things sound horrible he thinks that maybe it's not all his fault. He does recall hitting John for skipping school or going out on his own. So while the punishment was probably too much it wasn't totally unprecedented. But thinking all that makes him feel like trash. He's blaming his mute, abused and picked on son for all his failings as a parent. Whenever he thought about this in the past it would get too confusing and depressing so he would drink. He's honestly tempted to do just that. What John doesn't know won't hurt him, right?

He puts down the sketchbook he was browsing and walks to the kitchen. He was honestly surprised by the quality of the drawings, he isn't too sure when John learned how to draw like that. There's a feeling he doesn't know much about his son. Maybe he should buy him a sketchbook, all of the new drawings are on lined paper or the back of old worksheets.

In the kitchen dad pulls a bottle of liquor out if the freezer and pours some into a glass. Looking around he realizes he hasn't bought food yet. He faintly thinks that he's falling back into the same behaviors but disregards that. Change takes time, he's just waiting for a breakthrough. Okay, so maybe that's a piss poor excuse. He decides it'd be best to go buy food before he gets drunk. Pouring the drink down the sink he grabs his keys to go to the supermarket.

On the way to the store he spots a familiar truck. He catches a glimpse of a smiling John and a smirking blonde. His own face darkens, feeling alittle double crossed. For some reason seeing his son happy with someone else makes him angry. Does he not want John to be happy? This is getting pretty messed up. More tense than before he watches the truck park outside of the supermarket, John and his friend climb out, walking in shortly after. They seem friendly, almost too friendly. They are very close, arms brushing against eachother while the blonde talks with animated hands. John's shoulders shake up and down in silent laughter. Parking and getting out of the car he decides to spy.

Once in the store he has to wander and search until he finds them. Staying hidden he follows and listens to their muffled conversation. They're in the frozen food aisle, next to the breakfast food in particular. He caught them in the middle of a discussion.

"I don't understand. This is a simple question. All I'm asking is if we should get normal waffles or the ones with chocolate chips." There is a short pause before dave laughs slightly. "If you say so. Let's head to the syrup section… Wherever that may be."

Dad silently and inconspicuously follows, noting every movement from the boys. They grow silent until John says something to Dave. Dave strains to see the cracked screen but eventually makes out the message.

"What am I doing? Well John, I'm going to make us some fucking waffles and I'm going to introduce you to some actual cinema that doesn't have nic cage involved. Tonight our feature film is the breakfast club! The movie has nothing to do with breakfast but I don't care. I'm making this shit happen."

John smiles up at Dave and he smiles back. Dad is really starting to question the extent of their relationship. They get syrup after looking around and pay for the food. On their way out he's pretty sure he was spotted by the taller boy. He stared at his direction for a few seconds before ushering John out of the store. He watched the truck skid out of the parking lot with an uneasy feeling in his gut.


	12. Chapter 12

John was dropped off at his house at 9 PM. Most of the lights were off so he assumed his dad was either asleep or locked up in his room. As quietly as he can manage he unlocks the front door and steps inside. It smells like a combination of cleaning supplies and alcohol, knowing this only spells trouble he tries to hurry up the stairs. As he's about halfway up his dad walks out of the kitchen and basically yells his name. Shocked, he slips and falls down. On the bottom step he looks at dad who seems rather upset.

"You seem to be under the impression that you can come and go as you please." He stops, clears his throat and runs a hand across his face, clearly conflicted, "Just… Come home by 7PM on schooldays, and stop going out all the time. I know things aren't perfect yet but I'm trying. I really am."

He disappears into another room and John picks himself off the ground. Once again the ascends to his room and locks the door behind him. He can't help the feeling that was close, way too close. If dad hadn't calmed himself down that could have been a disaster. Sitting on the bed he looks around the mess that is his room. He should really clean so he doesn't get in trouble or piss off his father.

Standing, he shuffles over to one of the piles of clothes and starts shoving them into a laundry basket. Half of them have slight blood stains covering the sleeves and neck. He'll have to scrub in an attempt to get them clean. When all of the clothes are in a basket he turns his attention to the papers and notebooks scattered about. First he finds the old sketchbooks and stacks them on the desk next to his computer. He organizes the books by age, putting the drawings from years ago on the bottom and the newest on top. Next, he puts all of his recent drawings in a folder. He uses all of his actual notebooks for class so he has to draw on random pieces of paper instead.

Once that's done he puts the pencils, pens and other various art supplies in a drawer. That leaves the few random glasses that are scattered around his room. Dad is still awake so washing them is out of the question. He decides doing the laundry and dishes can wait until tomorrow. After dads discussion with him he's a little apprehensive about hanging out with Dave for a few days. He has to think of a legitimate excuse to keep Dave at bay.

Maybe he could tell him the truth, or at least some form of the truth. It always feels horrible to lie to Dave, especially after all he's done for him. But still, lying is a natural reflex, and sometimes lying is better than telling the truth. The truth hurts much more than a little white lie. He collapses onto the bed, turns on his alarm and passes out without changing or taking off his glasses.

You're sitting on a hill with the cute dog eared girl along with a green girl who has a striking resemblance to a skull and a girl with swirly pink and blonde hair. Faintly you think the she looks like Roxy, but also looks like she carries some heavy burdens. You suppose everyone has their fair share of demons now. After everything it's not surprising. But now you're left wondering what 'everything' is.

Next you realize none of you are wearing your robes, you're dressed in everyday civilian clothing. However out of place, this feels it's nice. You don't think you need to do anything, save anyone, and that's refreshing. The wind blows through your hair as you peel blades of grass apart.

The three girls are chatting away when you look up at the sky. It's bright and blue, small wispy white clouds here and there. The sun is blinding but once you get use to it something catches your eye. Looking in that direction causes your heart to skip and plummet to your stomach.

"_!" You call out and they all stare at you. You point at the sky and they gasp in unison. Heading right to your location is a huge flaming meteor. All of you scramble to stand and instantly you're flying to the rest of your friends. They're all in a huddle, weapons drawn with desperate expressions.

"What the hell? I thought we were done with all this meteor bullshit!" You hear a familiar voice all but yell.

"_ do the space window thing!" You suggest frantically.

"AUGH! I'm trying! It just won't shrink!" She responds with an angry bark at the end.

"Oh my god, okay uh Roxy! Can you do some special void stuff?" You ask hopefully, somewhat distraught that one of your strongest players can't do anything.

"I'm trying to but this shit just ain't cutting it! Do the windy thing!" She throws her hands up in frustration.

"Uh, okay, I can try. Hold onto your hats!" You joke, trying to lighten the mood.

"Not the fucking time Egbert." Dave says through gritted teeth. You mutter an apology before doing the windy thing. Once the dust settles you all look up to see the meteor, unharmed. There is a collective groan.

"OH MY GOG AND HERE I THOUGHT WE COULD CATCH A BREAK. GREAT." A boy who isn't exactly human yells. "SOMEHOW YOU GUYS KEEP FUCKING EVERYTHING UP."

"_ and I could try to cut it in half like my bro did when I entered." Dave offers, voice wavering a bit.

"Even if we do manage to cut it in half without the unbreakable katana it's not like we have the medium to escape to. The whole planet would go up in flames." The boy who looks like Dave's bro counters skeptically.

"If we all combine our fray motifs we could probably destroy it." The light haired girl says suddenly, determination written on her face.

"So It's Either We All Get Killed By A Flaming Meteor, Or Some Of The Planet Is Destroyed By A Flaming Meteor." Another alien says matter of fact.

"Guys we might want to think of a tactical plan faster because the meteor is getting dangerously close." You mumble anxiously, not looking away from the sky.

"Ok let's go with mom's plan. If anyone knows what to do it'll be a seer." The swirly haired girl says firmly.

"Wait TZ is a seer too. What do you think?" Dave asks.

"1 TH1NK W3 SHOULD G3T 4 MOV3 ON." The third alien with red glasses says, an uncharacteristic frown on her face.

"Everyone get ready!" Someone yells and everyone gets into position. It's getting hotter and hotter as the meteor looms overhead. With all of your aspects aligned you try to destroy the meteor, to save your universe yet again. As soon as you move to attack the meteor hits the ground and your vision goes black.

* * *

John gasps and jumps up, frantically looking around only to find himself in an unfamiliar location. He sits on the bed, trying to focus on the surroundings. He hears distant voices in the back of his mind but can't make out any words. That's until one voice, different than the others, is heard over the static.

**'Boy.**   
**Listen boy.**   
**Boy listen.**   
**You there.**   
**Boy.**   
**Listen.'**

Still highly confused and disoriented John tries to figure out what's actually going on. He's in a house, in a bed. Does that mean the thing with the meteor was a dream? That would make sense. He still can't figure out where he is though. Where is this voice coming from?

**'Hey, boy listen.**   
**Boy.**   
**Are you listening?**   
**Have you heard of the children who save the world?**   
**It's quite a popular story.**   
**First there were four, they lead their planet to inevitable destruction along with their entire universe. They together created an unbeatable demon that would stop at nothing to get what it wants. With defeat as the only option they scratched their session, created 4 more heroes. With their efforts combined with a few aliens they battled against the odds. These aliens too destroyed their universe, for that is essential for the game being played. They started with 12 players and ended up with 4.**   
**In the end they created their new universe, saved the world.**   
**Boy listen.**   
**Listen.**   
**This is very important.**   
**You are the Heir of Breath.**   
**You are one of those children, you saved the world.**   
**Do you know where you are boy?**   
**You're home.'**

By now John is crying, honestly terrified. He has no idea where this voice is coming from, he has no idea what the voice is talking about. He just has no fucking idea what's going on. He's in a really weird headspace between dreams and reality, and there is currently no real line between the two. He doesn't know where he is or who he is, all that he knows is that he wants the voices to stop.

The first voice disappeared only to be replaced by a soft female voice. This one is much less abrasive than the first. It isn't as loud, fading in and out, blurring with the mess of voices in the back of his head.

_'You have a calling Heir._   
_A destiny if you will._   
_You control much more than you are aware of._   
_Take charge. Take the first step. Everything will fall into place in time._   
_All of your worries and anxieties are limited to this space, this timeline._   
_You will learn that this isn't all there is._   
_There is much more to life, your life, than you realize._   
_Just wait, you'll see.'_

John continues crying, shoving his head under the pillow in an attempt to stop the voices. But blocking off other senses made the voices become even louder, even more present. Everything is so fucked up, so confusing. He still has almost no idea what's going on. The voices have started to mix together, creating a high pitched buzz. Minutes pass, John entirely unaware of the time. Eventually he fades out of consciousness, falling into a heavy dreamless sleep.

Dave's alarm woke him up, surprisingly he wasn't that tired. He got up, getting ready slowly, feeling no need to rush. Bro was gone so he could shuffle around the apartment as much as he wanted. The shower was abnormally cold, taking almost 5 minutes to warm up. Once he's clean and properly dressed he makes coffee and breakfast. As the remainder of the toaster waffles are made he takes a moment to text John. Oddly, he doesn't get a response.

The waffles are made and it's time to pick up John. He sends another text but once again doesn't get a response. Getting alittle worried he hurried to the car and drives to his house. He waits outside for awhile but once 5 minutes have passed he decides to go inside. He's getting pretty nervous. Walking to the door he checks to see if it's open. To his surprise it's unlocked and he walks into the empty grey living room.

He takes off his shoes and walks up to John's room. When he gets to the door he tries to open it but finds it locked. Well, good thing he's a strider and knows how to get past simple door locks. Once picked he opens the door and walks in. John is lying in bed, phone on the ground next to his glasses. He looks tired, really tired. Dave almost doesn't want to wake him up.

He walks over and says his name, at first he isn't heard and he tries again. John wakes up and stares up at Dave, obviously alittle confused. He looks around the room and sits up, as if trying to find something. Dave picks up his phone and glasses and hands them to him. It's then he realizes John is wearing what he was yesterday.

"Morning dude, we're going to be late." Dave says and John looks at the clock. His face falls, jumping out of the bed and going through the closet. Dave leaves him to get dressed and goes downstairs to do some more sleuthing. The living room is normal and boring. Generic in general. He hears the door to the bathroom open when he finds a room in a small hall next to the kitchen. It seems to be some sort of study, it reeks of alcohol and tobacco. He's about to investigate but John starts walking down the stairs. They go to the car and start the drive to school.

Dave notices John is withdrawn, extremely distant. He's seen him like this a few times in the past, like the first time they hung out outside of school. The day he did literally nothing but sleep. He looks over and he's staring out of the window, eyes cloudy and unfocused. Dave decides he really doesn't like the look on his face.

John is watching the cars and houses pass, there is still a distant talking hum in his head but he could actually think now. He knows who he is and where he is and he knows this is not a dream. He's just going to cling to the normal things, because having constant voices in your head was definitely not normal.

They pull into the school and park as close to the door as Dave can manage. They walk into the building and then to class almost 15 minutes late. They get scolded but Dave comes up with a believable excuse so they're let off the hook. In the back of the class Dave attempts to start up a conversation. When he looks at John his eyes are closed, cheek resting on his hand. He's either being ignored or John is really out of it and can't hear him.

Class comes to a stop with individual work time. John has done nothing all day but sit with his eyes closed and he's going to figure out why. Dave stands, pulls John up by his hand and leads him into the hall without saying anything. The teacher spares them a glance but doesn't stop them. In the hall Dave physically takes John's face and makes him look at him.

"What's up." John looks past Dave, staring at an anti drug poster instead of him. "No, John. Look at me." He hesitantly makes weak eye contact, "What's wrong?"

John shrugs and Dave lets go of his face. Sighing he watches John lean against the wall, shutting his eyes again. Dave grabs his hand, "come on," and leads him back into class. People watch them sit down, they watch him whisper to John as he rests his head on the table. They watch all the odd intimate motions Dave is making, apparently uncaring about the people around.

The class continues like this until only about 10 minutes are left. Dave wakes up John but as soon as he looks up Dave stops all movement. He looks seriously terrified. Like he just saw some sort of real life horror scene.

**'Boy.**   
**You there.**   
**Listen, listen.**   
**You have to stay awake.**   
**You are not safe, this place is not safe.**   
**Are you listening?**   
**Boy, listen.**   
**Run.'**

"Do you want to go to my apartment?" Dave asks. John nods almost frantically so he stands, helping him to his feet. After they both have their things they walk out of the class, again not saying anything. Dave lingers close, watching how John looks around and over his shoulder occasionally. Almost like he thinks something is following them. Once outside they go to the car and climb in. In the passenger seat John pulls his knees to his chest and shudders. Dave runs a hand over his arm and realizes he's shaking slightly. That's not good.

With that he decides it's time to go and starts the car. During the drive John has curled into himself even more. The way his shoulders are shaking points to him crying but it's hard to tell when his face is covered. It takes a short amount of time before they're outside of the run down apartment building. Dave parks and walks to the other side of the car where he picks up John out of the seat and holds him close.

John is crying, holding the front of dave's shirt and pressing his face to his chest. He can't make out any anything he's saying, the voices he's hearing are louder than the other. He just shakes, clings to Dave and cries. He feels himself being carried inside, then up the stairs. Without the noise of traffic one of the familiar voices dominates.

_'You've already found the Knight._   
_They are known to protect_   
_You know what this means, correct?_   
_Things are already in motion, the Heir has wandered to the Knight and Rogue._   
_It's only a matter of time._   
_Are you prepared?'_

John shakes his head and Dave cradles a hand to his head. He never understands anything the voices say. It meant nothing, it's just gibberish that slightly relates to his dreams. It's all so frustrating! Everything gets even more quiet and dark so he opens his eyes. He's in dave's room, in his lap on the bed. It's so unbearably quiet but so deafeningly loud at the same time. He can't tell if Dave is still trying to talk to him or not, but his fingers running through his hair and down his back is nice. It makes him feel alittle better, alittle more real. It gives him something to ground himself to.

For a few minutes here and there he thinks he can make out Dave saying something to him. If he concentrates everything gets blurry again so he tries to calm down. To pay attention to whatever he's saying, hear any words or phrases. Eventually he stops clinging, he relaxes slightly and dave's arms tighten around him. Dave is humming. The realization makes his heart flutter and throat constrict for some unknown reason. He leans against him, letting out a shuddering breath while playing with the faded fabric of his red sweater. He's not crying anymore, which is nice. That makes things easier for both of them.

John's mind drifts to silence, focusing on the humming instead of the nonexistent voices. Dave shifts so he's leaning against the wall while John rests his head against his neck. They sit like this for awhile until john doesn't shiver every few minutes. Eventually everything becomes calm, John is able to think again and Dave feels much less anxious about his wellbeing. That's not to say he wasn't worried, he's quite worried. He just has a better grasp of the situation now.

John's eyes wander to the digital clock on Dave's side table. It's 1:30PM. Well after lunch and much too late to go back to class. With his new found awareness he realizes the blunder he just made. He skipped school again, dad is going to be so pissed. He just ruined his chances of having a 'happy little family' in one action. He wraps his arms around Dave's neck, hides his face and lets himself succumb to desperation. He fucked up, he's fucked, there is no way this is going to end well.


	13. Chapter 13

John is sitting on his porch, bright white snow blanketing the lawn with a matching grey sky. The streets are covered with black ice and grey, oil-slicked slush. He's in a heavy tan jacket, a red scarf wrapped around his neck. Freezing hands are stuffed deep into his pockets as he waits for dave to get to his house. For some reason his dad didn't get mad over him skipping school the other day, maybe he got too drunk and forgot. It doesn't really matter, all he knows is that he's grateful.

Hearing the rattling of Dave's shitty truck he exhales softly, breath creating steam in the cold environment. He stands and hurries to the car, climbing into the passenger seat. Dave looks cold, alittle tired but cheerful, and that makes john happy. Sometimes he looks really annoyed or exhausted when drives him in the morning. He greets John, him waving with a smile. He hands over a hot pocket and drives off to the direction of the school.

The trip is silent except for the bumping of Dave's music and tires against the wet snow. These little bouts of silence are normal between them, especially in situations where John can't respond effectively. It's too cold to roll down a window so he doesn't smoke his usual morning cigarette. John can always spot when he goes against the little daily routine.

Eventually Dave pulls into the school parking lot and parks away from the other vehicles. He somehow thinks people will be less likely to fuck up his already broken truck if he parks in the farthest corner. Before John can move to leave he stops him and asks, "We have like 12 minutes until class, could I smoke a cig before we go?"

John nods so he rolls down the windows and pulls out a pack and a lighter. He takes out a cigarette and puts it in his mouth, lighting it with shivering hands seconds later. They sit in the car, music playing as Dave takes drags from the stick. Smoke mixes with the steam from the cold, people walking in the parking lot behind them. A few minutes later he puts out the butt and throws it away in a random old can.

With five minutes until class they hurry into the building and into the desired room. Right as they're seated the bell rings and dave gives him a smug thumb up. John sticks out his tongue and dave chuckles softly. Once the teacher starts handing out papers John pulls out a piece of paper and Dave takes this as a cue to start rambling.

"Good mornin' John."

' _hey! what's up?'_

"Nothing much honestly, Bro went off to Florida over the weekend for some bullshit. Fucking bastard skipped all this snow. Have I mentioned how much i hate the snow? Hate it, I hate being cold dude, it takes effort to buy food now. Times like these make me wish I could fuck up the apartment and piss bro off by smoking inside. But then I would have to get like 5 cats to go all out. Make him super mad because he can't tell me to get rid of cats, play off the cat person in all Striders."

' _wow. that was a lot to take in.'_

"Yeah that was a tangent, how're you?"

' _i stayed inside, played a few video games, watched a movie. but more importantly my dad didn't say anything about me skipping school!'_

"Damn! Really? Do you know why?

"Dave, be quiet." The teacher says suddenly, looking at them straight faced. Dave nods and John chuckles silently.

' _why don't you just write? or would your bundles of words not translate onto paper?'_

"Is that a challenge?" he whispers, grabbing a red pen and tapping it against the desk.

' _anyways.'  
_ _'i have no idea why my dad didn't get mad, it was a relief. he's been really weird lately.'_

'what do you mean'

' _it's like he gets mad but then he stops himself? it looks like he's having some sort of internal battle.'_

'he better be feeling some sort of bad'  
'cause honestly all that shit aint cool'

' _he's my dad, i can't stay mad at him.'_

'yes you can dude what the fuck'  
'just because he's your dad doesnt mean shit'  
'you should be mad  
'get mad egbert'

' _it's not that simple dave.'_

Dave unexpectedly slams him face onto the table, making john jump. Everyone looks that way, the teacher less than amused. After a few seconds he sits up, apologises and looks at John. Staring at him straight in the eye he whispers at a volume only john can hear, "John you're being naive."

' _fuck you dave! what do you know?'_

'i know whatever your dad is doing isnt love'  
'and i know youre too fucking nice to realize what hes doing is bullshit'  
'top tier grade A bullshit'

' _UGH!'  
_ ' _this is stupid why do we even talk about this?'  
_ ' _we always have different opinions.'  
_ ' _i love my dad, i don't get it either but i don't think he REALLY hates me.'_

'youre too pure dude i cant handle this'  
'fucking fine once again we are going to completely ignore the huge fucking elephant in the room.'

' _what elephant? i don't see any elephant. :B'_

'youre lucky youre so damn cute'

John looks away with a blush before winking at dave who smiles in response. He goes to continue the conversation but people around them start packing up their books. That's when they realize they talked through the whole class. If there was homework both of them are fucked. Dave laughs and comments, "I guess we got alittle distracted."

John nods and they put their things away, moving to the door of the class. Dave rambles on about something while the seconds tick away. When the bell rings they hurry out of the room and shuffle to the next class quickly. John flinches when he passes a certain bald student in a black shirt with green shorts and suspenders. A shitty red bow tie is pinned to their stained, ripped shirt and the pants are as torn as his shoes. Dave takes note of him, wondering if that's the Caliborn character.

They reach english class and sit in their normal seats. Dave pulls out his phone, John taking out the notebook and flipping to a new page. Then he rests his cheek on a hand, watching Dave scroll through websites. People file into the room, sitting in groups of friends. Conversations surround their mutual silence. Eventually Dave looks at John, who's been staring at him intently. Just then he realizes what he's been doing and blushes a deep red.

"Do you think i'm pretty?" Dave teases and john makes a so-so hand movement, causing the other to fake an offended gasp. "You say the most hurtful things," this time john flips him off, finally looking at him. "Well for the record I think you're pretty."

John smiles with a toothy grin causing Dave to chuckle. The teacher calls the class to attention and unlike last time the duo actually pay attention to what's being said. The teacher tells everyone they'll be watching a movie. Said movie revolves around less fortunate children in hard situations. She explains there will be a writing assignment about someone the individual thinks has overcome adversity. Be it a celebrity, friend or family.

She starts the video, dims the lights and the class goes to doing whatever they want. Some people are focused on the video, others doing homework for classes or slacking off on their phone. Dave subtly scoots closer to John, who's dozing off while staring at the projection, chin resting on crosses arms. With careful, strategic movements he gently links their fingers together. John jumps at the sudden contact but allows it, going as far as to move closer. Dave goes back to his phone as his friend starts falling asleep

Class passes quickly and dave waits until there are 5 minutes left before he pokes john's cheek. John shakes his head and dave tries again, getting about the same response. This time he decides to flick him lightly. Finally, john looks up, obviously unamused. This is when Dave tells him that class is about to end so they pack up their things, leaving the room once the bell rings. He stays in john's next class until the last minute of passing period, only leaving when it's absolutely necessary.

Daves next class starts with an introduction to a new returning student named Caliborn. Instantly, Dave is locked on, examining his movements and demeanor. Then Caliborn decides to sit next to him. Everyone in the room stares in horror. It's become common knowledge that if you want to mess with John Egbert you'll have to get through Dave Strider first. Nobody has the balls to do that.

Caliborn turns to him, and introduces himself, asking "who the fuck are you."

"Names Dave."

"So you're the new kid?"

"Not very new anymore. I've never seen you so doesn't that make you the new one." Dave is trying to get information. The people behind them are staring, uncertainty written on their face

"I got suspended for awhile."

"Why?"

"I beat up the mute kid." Dave remains neutral but everyone else holds their breath.

"Damn, really? How'd you go about that great feat?" Sarcasm is dripping from every word but apparently the other party doesn't pick up on it.

"Well it wasn't exactly hard," he laughs, "he's like a walking target. Can't even call for help. I trapped him in the bathroom and beat him up a bit, apparently I put his life in danger or something. I honestly don't care. Can't wait to get my hands on him again, payback for getting me in that damned suspension school."

There's a long pause until Dave says seriously, voice full of venom, "if you even think about touching John again I'll break much more than your arm."

"You wanna go?" Caliborn asks confrontationally. His demeanor changed so quickly, it nearly gave everyone whiplash.

"Not particularly, but I'm willing to throw down if you're really that much of an idiot. Honestly so far i'm getting the feeling that you're lacking in intelligence."

Caliborn stands and tries to intimidate Dave who just laughs. "Yeah come on man try to hit me I fucking dare you." He's still sitting, staring at Caliborn who's disrupted the whole class, "oh shit, dude, can you only beat up people who can't fight back? Damn shame, I've been looking for some moron to try to get all up in my shit." Dave stands, and now everyone realizes he is much taller than Caliborn. "Or maybe you can just sit the fuck down like good a kid and mind your own damn business? If you don't fuck with john again we'll be peachy keen, ya feel?"

"Boys!" the teacher finally stops the nonsense. "If you can't get along ill seperate you."

"That'd probably be for the best ma'am." dave says, eyes still locked on caliborn.

"Dave, go sit next to gamzee." she says, sounding exhausted. Dave nods, grabbing his bag before going to sit next to the residential juggalo stoner named gamzee.

He leans over and says, "that was wicked bro." The pot on his breath is evident and his eyes are nearly bright red from the amount he's smoked. Dave just ignores him, pulling out his phone to start going through the internet. He's really trying to forget what just happened. Tune out the bastard that hurt john. It's proving to be quite difficult so he puts down his phone to glare at the back of his bald head.

All dave wants to do is beat his ass into the pavement.

Suddenly, he can't stay here. He's getting unreasonably pissed. Quickly he picks up his bags and leaves the room, ignoring the teacher telling him to stop. They always tell him to stay in class but it hasn't stopped him before. Why would he listen now? Strolling through the halls slowly he travels to john's class, sitting outside until the bell rings. As soon as john exits dave is by his side.

"So I met caliborn." He says bluntly and John looks at him, alittle fearful in all honesty. He makes a motion that indicates he wants the other to continue. "I might have been alittle confrontational." john gives him a look that plainly reads 'why?' Dave sighs, "dude he was talking about beating you up and shit, i can't handle that. I tried to keep it together, like really i was all chill and composed like a strider should be and then he started threatening you and its like BAM all this angry dave came out."

John pulls out his phone, typing while walking to the cafeteria. Eventually, once they get in the lunch line, he shows dave the screen. ' _you shouldn't try to do anything, he's insane."_

"I'm a strider, I can beat the shit out of that asshat."

' _i know but honestly he has like guns and knives and shit. he tried to kill his twin sister.'_

John looks really worried so Dave sighs, "alright man if I get in argument I'll walk away but if he even looks at you wrong I will not hold back" John doesn't reply, he still looks really uneasy. "Fuck, dude look at me." John turns to him, fear written on his face. "I won't do anything dumb, alright? Main goal is no fights?" John nods, "so I'll just snatch you up and run off if people come a'knockin."

' _snatch me up?'_

"Yeah man like this," he suddenly picks John up you lets out a silent yelp before swatting at the other boy. "Then I got me my own Egbert to go!"

He keeps hitting dave, making motions that obviously mean, 'put me down you utter asshole.'

"You're no fun John," he lets John stand and he instantly gets a smack to the side of his head, "shit I'm in trouble aren't I?"

' _don't randomly pick me up!'_

"Why not?" Dave asks and John looks flabbergasted.

' _why not?! why would you in the first place?'_

"You look so transportable."

This is one of the times when John wishes he could talk, because this is just outrageous. So he just does what he knows is a universal language. Give him two middle fingers and dave fake gasps.

"My only friend using such disrespectful gestures!" John rolls his eyes, "I should report you to the counselors, I feel emotionally, physically and spiritually attacked. I might never be the same."

John mouths 'good' as well as he can and Dave lights up, changing the conversation topic, "dude can you mouth more shit because I can totally read your lips.

' _not really it's hard because i have never actually made the sound so i'm guessing.'_

"Damn, do you know sign language?"

' _basics, i never really learned how to actually form sentences."_

"We should learn together," Dave says.

' _you would do that?'_

"Hell yeah dude if it would make it easier for you then I'm so down."

They get to the kitchen, John buying food and Dave doing the same only for John to eat. Then they go to the library side by side, sitting in their usual spots. There's more people than usual, a few of the tables are filled with random students. Apparently the school rules changed, eating in the library is allowed now. John starts nibbling, Dave putting the things he bought next to his friends pile of food.

Minutes pass in silence, except for the numerous conversations surrounding people are having. Most of them are talking about the most idiotic and trivial things. Dave looks over, seeing someone he recognizes as tavros talking to the stoner from earlier. They're talking about Pokemon, the boy in the wheelchair going on and on about a shiny charmander he caught.

John finishes eating so Dave stops spying and turns to his friend, "what are you doing after school?"

' _my dad wants me to stay home.'_

"Damn, I wanted to chill."

'sorry.'

"It's fine, we really should learn sign language though. It'll be like a secret code. Think of all the horrible things I could say and nobody would know. We could talk shit right in front of someone."

' _The first thing you go to is mocking people.'_

' _Remind me again why I hang out with you?'_

"Because you love me, obviously. You can't handle the strider charm. I don't blame you, I can hardly handle it myself." Dave says only to get an completely unamused look from John.

' _i do not understand how you come up with half of the things you say.'_

"The ironic witty banter runs through my veins, it's hereditary."

' _so just another strider trait.'_

"Now you're getting it." John looks at him, with the most done expression Dave has ever seen. He can't help but laugh, asking, "you're not buying this, are you?"

John shrugs, moving his hand in a gesture that usually means, 'obviously.'

They continue with a lighthearted back and forth, surrounding people watching them casually interact. To any onlooker it's evident their flirting, but neither of them have picked up on it. Eventually johns checks the time, seeing that it's about time to get going. Dave helps him stand to throw away the trash and walk him to the next class.

The rest of the day passes peacefully with no incident. John sits through class, absently staring at the board. Dave does about the same in his, only staring and scrolling through his phone. He leaves class early to walk with John during passing period. At the end of school he drives him to his house, apprehensively saying goodbye, watching him walk into the bland house with a tight feeling in his chest.

* * *

TG: hey john  
TG: dude you up  
TG: i can see you read my messages i wanna talk  
TG: joooooohhhhnnnn  
TG: johnny boy  
TG: john  
TG: dude come on  
EB: i am now awake, all thanks to you.  
TG: cool  
TG: so whats up hows my fav doing this fine evening  
EB: this is what was so important?  
EB: you messaged me at 1am just to see how i'm doing?  
TG: i want to talk is that a crime  
TG: are you gonna call the cops on me egbert  
TG: what will our children think  
TG: you know  
TG: having their father in jail and all  
TG: just because he wanted to see how the always radiant jonathan edgelord is doing  
EB: that's not my name, david.  
TG: dont even go there  
EB: i will go wherever i want, david.  
TG: oh god damn it  
TG: im gonna call you jonathan all day tomorrow just because of this  
TG: you and your god damn shenanigans i swear  
EB: you started it.  
TG: whatever  
EB: well at least i'm glad you woke me up.  
TG: why  
TG: what bullshit is your subconscious pulling today because i will smack that shit right into god damn rainbows and sunshine  
TG: pot o gold and leprechauns  
TG: the whole works  
EB: you'll think it's really weird.  
TG: do you really think im going to judge you because of a dream you had  
TG: honestly that kinda hurts  
EB: jeez, now you're making me feel bad.  
EB: well...  
EB: I guess i have these dreams about me and this group of people. you're in them, but even before i met you so i don't really understand that part.  
EB: but we play this computer game and it basically destroys our universe and we have to become gods and fight all these demons and monsters to win and get earth back.  
EB: it's really hard to explain.  
EB: but I've dreamt about this since i was little. i have okay dreams sometimes but it's usually really intense.  
TG: intense  
TG: is that really the best descriptive word you got  
TG: what about like  
TG: terrifying or completely shit or maybe just fucked  
TG: because that sounds terrible  
EB: i've gotten use to it. it hardly bothers me anymore.  
TG: ok thats bullshit  
TG: calling that out right now  
TG: ive seen you after nightmares and that aint really what id say is "not bothered"  
TG: you want to chill or something I can climb your house  
EB: dave, no!  
EB: that's a bad idea why would you even recommend that?  
TG: i want to see you  
TG: i wont let a mere clock reading 1:30am wont stop me from seeing my main man  
EB: my dad! he'd see your car.  
EB: there's no way it could end well.  
TG: ill walk  
EB: no.  
TG: does he check on you on the morning  
EB: i don't think so?  
TG: why dont i walk over and you jump from your porch into my outstretched and always supportive arms  
EB: what if he wakes up  
TG: isnt he like wasted out of his mind 24/7 just come chill  
TG: we can watch movies bro is gone so we got that shit on lockdown  
EB: you'll catch me?  
TG: you doubt my abilities  
EB: honestly, yes.  
TG: jesus christ  
TG: are you going with this or not  
EB: sure, fine.  
EB: i really hope this doesn't backfire.  
TG: hell  
TG: fucking  
TG: yes  
TG: aight I already started walking so it'll be like 10 minutes  
TG: you think you can get to the porch  
EB: i guess there's one way to find out!  
TG: be careful dude  
TG: and bring your backpack and clothes  
EB: right.

John pockets his phone, putting some clean clothes into his backpack. After slipping on his shoes and putting on a large jacket he opens the door softly. Looking at his father's room he sees it's dark. He doesn't hear him downstairs so he decides to take the risk and move a few feet down the hall to the porch entrance. Slowly, carefully, he opens the door and exits the hallway, standing on the porch. Once the door is closed he lets out a long breath and unlocks his phone.

EB: i'm outside.  
TG: almost there like 3 more minutes  
EB: it's freezing.  
TG: sorry princess i can only shuffle so fast  
EB: fuck you.  
TG: gladly  
TG: here look down

John looks over the ledge and sees Dave wave at him.

TG: jump dude i promise ill catch you  
EB: uhhh...  
TG: come on i ran for this  
TG: see how damn winded i am i need myself a john on the double  
TG: like why arent you in my arms right now  
EB: if you don't catch me i'm going to be so mad.  
TG: this is the ultimate trust fall  
EB: that doesn't make me feel better at all.  
TG: just jump before your dad sees us

John hesitantly throws down his backpack which Dave catches easily and puts on. It takes awhile but eventually he gathers enough courage to jump from the ledge into daves general direction. As promised Dave catches him. But in doing so he falls into the snow, flat on his ass. John laughs silently while he groans.

"Caught ya," Dave mumbles, it sounds like he's in pain. John stands and helps him up, "let's get going it's freezing out here and now my pants are wet." John nods and together they start walking to the apartment. Almost 10 minutes pass of them traveling silently in the frigid cold. John burrows himself in his jacket while Dave tries to ignore the temperature by sheer willpower alone. When they finally get back to the apartment there's a mutual sigh of relief.

"Damn, that was an adventure. Like in those cheesy romantic comedies." Dave says and John rolls his eyes. He pulls out his phone to reply.

'i'm just glad you caught me.'

"Yeah, me too." Dave comments offhand, laughing at johns horrified expression, "kidding man, I knew I could do it. At least cushion your fall somewhat." They get out of their jackets and shoes, settling on the couch. Dave changes pants before turning on the tv. They pick out a random movie before scooting next to the other.

The movie plays and they get closer and closer. John leans on Dave who puts an arm around his shoulders. His free hand holds the others lightly, rubbing small circles on his palm. John rests his head on daves shoulders, who will never admit to the small blush on his face. Minutes pass and both of them are getting more relaxed. Happy, warm and content with each others presence.

"Hey john," Dave whispers after awhile, the movie is nearly finished. John looks at him quizzically and Dave smiles, appearing a tad nervous. Eventually he asks, "can I kiss you?"

John stares as his mind short circuits. While he's never thought about it he thinks he might like Dave like that. He's the only person who's ever tried to get to know him. Ever treated him like a decent human. After a few more seconds he nods and Dave smiles genuinely.

He moves closer, putting his shades on the top of his head. John suddenly feeling alittle overwhelmed, completely flustered. There are explosions on the movie in the background but he can only focus on Dave. How he's slowly getting closer and closer. Inching closer to his face and red eyes staring right into blue. If John had the ability he would have gasped when a soft hand lightly holds his jaw. He stares, wide eyed as Dave closes the gap, lightly brushing his lips against johns. It's a short, brief touch but his heart skips a beat, stomach fluttering.

"Thank you," Dave whispers and John suddenly moves to latch onto him. Dave instantly holds him, a goofy grin on both of your faces, "John," he whispers in a singsong voice, "was I your first kiss?"

John nods shyly and Dave continues, "did I do okay?" He nods again and Dave chuckles, murmuring, "there's plenty more from where that came from." Dave feels a silent giggle and smiles. That went so much better than he was expecting.

They stay close to each other, watching the tv in the warm living room. They slowly start dozing off, John eventually falling asleep against dave. Yawning, he feels himself growing a bit tired. This is when he decides to lay down, arranging John between him and the back of the futon. It takes only minutes before both of them are comfortable, content and resting in each other's arms.

Bro walks into the apartment, seeing two little lovebirds asleep on the futon. It's not even folded down, they're just squished in the small space. Daves shades are on the ground, johns glasses nearby. They look so happy, peaceful. Honestly it's rare to see Dave calm and still. He hopes they can keep up whatever they have together, it's pure, honest and one of the sweetest love stories he's seen.


End file.
